History
by RosyPaths
Summary: Kagome attends to her history lesson and learns just how much fun it can be teasing your teacher, until she has to face up with the consequences. Lemon. StudentxTeacher. Kag/Sessh. Miroku/Sango. Slight Kag/Inu. COMPLETE
1. Teasing

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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Seducing your history teacher wasn't a crime, right? Well, about that she had no idea nor did she care, but what she knew was that it was extremely fun!

That morning she had arrived to the school early, when only a few students had just arrived and were waiting for their friends. She walked over to the classroom door where the history lesson would be held. She leaned against the wall, bending her knee and tapping her heel of the shoe against the floor. It was a habit of hers to pass time. She had picked it up from somewhere.

Glancing at the clock high on the wall she sighed and ran her fingers through her black locks. The strands slid easily from between her fingers and she let the hand fall down against her thigh, straightening the hem of her green knee length skirt. There was a little excited smile playing about her lips and she was anxious; he would be teaching today.

Last time she had been on his class, oh kami, had she had fun time teasing him! He had stopped in the middle of his lecture, distracted, almost forgetting what he had been talking about. She had been sitting in the front row, her shirt giving him a quite generous peek at her assets.

Getting lost in thought she frowned slightly. She felt absolutely attracted to him. Often times she had found herself staring at him, her eyes passing over his features, stripping him. She shivered pleasantly, a smile breaking out.

Hearing soft footsteps coming her way she turned to look at the person walking closer, a black briefcase held in his grip.

"Miss Higurashi." He nodded and she smiled at him, giving him a nod of acknowledgement back, stepping to the side to let him open the door to the classroom.

She entered after him, going to sit onto her customary place. She lifted her bag on her lap, rummaging through it in a search of her books. Realizing they weren't there, she figured out they had to be in her locker. Taking her keys she left her bag and quickly excited the room, walking down the corridor to where the lockers were. Coming back with her books she sat back down, opening the books to see what they had studied last time. She had an awful memory. Well, at least concerning everything else but him. She glanced up at him from underneath her black lashes.

He was standing behind his desk, dressed up in a light grey tailored suit. With his rare long white hair and slightly tanned skin he looked good. She brought her eyes back to her books just in time when he lifted his to look up at her. He had felt her eyes on him.

The lesson started quite uneventfully and she just spent her time taking notes and listening to his marvelous voice. She was slightly dazed, half of the words' meaning being lost to her as she found herself listening more to his tone of voice.

It became even harder to focus when, as the lesson went on and the sun started to heat up the class room despite the air conditioning (which was really quite poor), he took of his suit jacket. It left him in his white button up collar shirt, of which he rolled the sleeves up. His arms looked really nice, she couldn't but wonder, and had to stop herself in the fear of starting to drool.

She would shiver every time his molten golden eyes passed her and even at times stopped to look directly at her, demanding her full attention. As if he didn't have it all already...

Whirling her pencil in her hand, between her index and middle finger she made sure she glanced at him every time he looked her way. She glanced at the clock and saw him glance at it also as if to see what she was worrying about but then smoothly moved to stand closer to her desk where she was sitting, never once faltering in his teaching.

She felt herself blush as he came to stand just before her desk as if it was nothing and he just so happened to need to be on that spot at the moment. She tried to focus on her notes, trying to hide her blush behind her bangs and hair with little success. She breathed a sigh of relief when he continued to the other end of the room. She felt slightly ashamed though that feeling did not last for long. It felt like he had just caught her obliviously, which perhaps he had. She felt her heart beat faster. This felt so naughty.

Deciding he was doing all too well and that the balance of powers had turned to his advantage, she slightly edged her skirt upwards to mid-thigh, stretching her long looking legs before her. From the corner of her eye she saw him notice that and to herself she smirked.

After some ten minutes more of teasing each other discreetly the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.

"Remember to return the paper next Monday." He reminded them.

She packed her stuff slowly and was eventually the last person to leave. She saw him wipe clean the chalkboard, his back turned to her. She cast him one last longing look and turned to leave. She had taken two steps when his voice called for her.

"Kagome, would you stay or a moment? Oh and could you close the door for me?"

She stopped, turning back. "Yeah, sure." She said totally normally, thinking that he wanted her help on something or that he had something to talk about her studies. She went to the door and closed it, hearing it snap locked. To her it was nothing much – the doors were always kept locked in between the lessons to avoid stuff being stolen from the classrooms. Seeing him spend his time wiping off the last of the chalkboard, seemingly he was not in a hurry, she went back to sit on her desk, crossing her ankles.

"There is something I need to discuss with you." He told her, turning back to his desk, crossing it to be opposite to her, leaning back against his desk.

She blinked her eyes innocently, tilting her head to the side. "About what?" She asked, sounding curious. She started to think back. She was getting good grades and as far as she was sure, she did not have any papers unreturned...

That was when he dropped something from his desk as he moved his hand. They both saw it fall down – a gleaming beautiful rock that he kept his papers piled underneath, and they both made a move to catch it. Kagome reached the rock first but stopped sort of touching it, seeing him reach for it. She looked up, coming face to face with him. Both stared back at each other in wonder, a little lost to the moment. She looked him into the eyes, which, she wondered, looked deep and hypnotizing up this close.

He pulled his hand back, straightening up, letting her to pick the rock up. She enfolded the black gleaming cat's gold -rock into her fist, standing back up. She handed it over to him and he gave her a little wry smile, taking it. His fingers brushed against her palm and her breath caught in her throat. He discarded the rock onto his desk without even looking at it and reached to pull her up against him by her still outstretched hand. She didn't have the time or the will to resist when she felt her body hit against him, her eyes slightly widened.

"How about you test how they taste like instead of imagining?" He muttered to her by her ear and she hardly had the time to process his words when his lips claimed hers. Her world slowed down to the moment and then she could only feel. After some long seconds he pulled his lips from hers, still staying close to her, waiting for her reaction.

Her lips parted in awe and she looked straight at him with stupefied look in her eyes. She then blinked, bringing her tongue out to quickly lick over her upper lip. She saw his eyes catch up to the motion until it was gone.

"Hmn." She then huffed, raising one eyebrow in a similar way to him when he was contemplating something. "I couldn't lie and say I didn't like the taste..." She answered, staying there.

His eyes searched her, went over her features and she tested him, staying on her place. He did not yell out that he shouldn't be doing this because the rules of his work did not permit it – luckily though she was of age already - nor did he shy away. He stayed.

She leaned in. He turned his attention to her lips and she hesitantly lifted her hand to steady it on the side of his face as she leaned in to give him a little peck on the lips. He did not give her the opportunity to escape and crushed his lips on hers, harder now. She brought her other hand onto his shoulder and she felt his hand snake its way around her to pull her even closer to him. His tongue came out to trail the parting of her lips, convincing her sneakily to open up her mouth.

She moaned into the kiss and felt him in response lift her up and sit her onto his desk, pushing the papers aside. He never broke the kiss and his hand trailed teasingly down her side before slowly coming back upwards, his fingers brushing against her skin where her sleeveless white top ended. Her breathing turned labored. He was breathing quite heavily himself.

Deciding she could use this crazy opportunity to her advantage as well, Kagome trailed her hands down his arms, feeling his muscles. She brought her hands to his chest and started pulling at his button-up shirt which he had loosely tugged into his pants. Hesitating only for a moment, his kisses got rougher and he moved from her lips to lay kisses on her jawbone and neck, occasionally stopping to suck at her skin, earning him a deep moan.

She trailed her hands underneath his shirt and sighed in happiness as she felt his toned muscles quivering underneath her touch. He gave her a slight bite that made her stop and gasp a breath.

"If you go much further at that, you are going to make me miss the rest of my classes today..." He murmured to her on his baritone voice, breathing quite rapidly.

She smiled a little, slowly bringing her hands down. She heard his breath catch the lower the hands returned and felt his muscles tense, heard the low groan building up on the back of his throat. She pulled her hands back to herself, feeling his hands gripping her exposed legs. She looked up at him innocently, her gleaming eyes dilated with the pleasure.

He lifted his hand up to brush his thumb over her lips while staring deep into her eyes. He pulled his other hand a little reluctantly from her leg. "You should go to your next class." He said to her softly, stepping back from her slowly.

She slid down from the table he had lifted her up on and grasped her bag from the desk, hurrying from the room. She turned to glance at him one last time from over her shoulder before disappearing from his sight.

On the next lesson when she opened her bag to take her books out again, a white piece of paper came with them, making her frown. She opened the folded piece of paper, wondering how it had gotten there. There was text on it and it was written on the curvy handwriting she had seen so many times on the chalkboards. There was no name signing it but there was no need to it anyway. She knew who it was from:

"Wait for me at the end of the day. If you like."

Folding the paper she slid it back to her bag, a smirk playing about her lips.

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	2. She's Doomed

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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Her shoes clapped against the cool corridor floor as she was moving from the way of other students in a hurry more so than she was. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she heard a door slam shut behind her somewhere. She stopped, bracing herself against a wall by her side. Her breathing came out shaky and she licked her lips in anticipation, closing her eyes for a moment.

Her body just wouldn't stop tingling. Oh... her mind was at odds with stopping torturing her with flashes of memories of touches. Her heart raced, pulse rising up to soar somewhere that her head was at... Cursing softly the young woman opened her closed eyes. What was she doing? She should be running the directly opposite direction by now, definitely anything but what she was doing now.

His suggestive line written on the paper had plagued her for the rest of her classes. Her focus had not been on the lines of literature before her that she was supposed to read, but rather on the mental image of a certain white haired history teacher of hers... And in arts class she had ended up drawing his face on the blank sheet of paper. Had she been shocked once realizing herself what she had done! Luckily no one saw that drawing that she had been quick to hide. It was not fair having him mess her up so totally!

She had been head over heels in – well, lust would be the most proper word for it – since she had sat down on a lesson of his for the first time. Her deliberate teasing had been exhilarating for her at best and while she had had all sorts of fantasies about something more than a teacher-student relationship that they shared, she had never really been naive enough to believe anything more than what they had could ever be.

She was not delusional but she was starting to think her twisted mind had a total control over her whenever with him. Like today – what the hell had she been doing? She couldn't believe that some five hours ago she had been in his arms, moaning like a wanton bitch in heat.

That mental image sent a flash of white hot pleasure running down to her loins, making her skin feel hot and flustered again. Oh, hadn't she had enough of that for one day? With no place to go to and distinguish that searing passion inside of her the day had been rather uncomfortable for her. Her twisted mind had come up with more than a legal amount of twisted ways to make her feel better again.

Most of which involved her writhing under an equally flustered white haired handsomeness hovering above her...

Shaking her head Kagome wondered what the hell was wrong with her. She could always blame the spring-time hormones but this was really on a higher level this time.

Now she was only less than twenty meters from the class of the man of her late night dreams. And daydreams, dreams during every freaking moment her mind wandered off...

"Shut up..." The woman growled at herself, stomping towards the classroom again.

She was supposed to be an adult. They could sort this out as adults. And by now he would probably have started having second thoughts; apologizing for exploiting her while she had had such total trust in him... and in his capabilities. Mentally slapping herself for that last line of thought the black haired woman stopped behind the closed door, listening.

She glanced at her watch. The lessons had ended some fifteen minutes ago. He couldn't be keeping his students extra time, could he? Timidly raising her hand to knock on the door she mentally cursed it all, taking a deep breath. To hell or heaven, here it goes...

The door opened with a click and she raised her eyes to look into the golden ones of the person having opened the blocking object keeping them apart. She saw him recognize her and something changed in those eyes but it was so subtle that she didn't quite have the change to get a hold of it before her wrist was snatched in his strong grasp, pulled inside and against the door he closed after her.

A pair of warm lips claimed hers before she had much of a change to do anything but widen her eyes in shock. Hand appeared from somewhere onto her neck and tilted her head backwards, his mouth dominating hers. Feeling breathless she gasped for air when he reluctantly pulled back, staying close to stare right into her eyes.

"Did you change your mind?" He asked her.

"About what?" She asked, frowning and a little side tracked by the kiss that had heated up her system to flare. Her hooded eyes traced his features and she felt reluctant to think about anything too hard.

"About this..." He leaned back in to trail kisses down her jawline to her neck. "…about what I asked of you?"

"And... what exactly was that?" She asked trying her hardest to keep her voice from faltering as his lips passed over a sensitive spot with a butterfly's touch.

He chuckled against her throat, his other hand coming to rest on her hip. "What indeed."

Suddenly he lifted her up and moved her so that she was a couple of meters to the side from the door, against a wall. Kagome hissed quietly from between her teeth as the coldness of the white concrete wall numbed her skin, making her shiver from the rather unwanted temperature change. That feeling was, however, replaced by a feeling of a different caliber when he non-ashamedly pressed his body against hers. "That's right." He growled by her ear. "Moan for me."

Kagome let out a surprised sound that mingled with a moan passing her lips as he nibbled and sucked at a sensitive place just between her shoulder and neck. She could feel sharp teeth pick at the soft skin there and her mind lost focus, lost control as she lifted her hands to run her fingers down his neck, all the way to his lower back where they stopped their search just above the rise of his buttocks, not daring to venture lower.

She heard him let out a little groan and buck against her hips. That made her throw her head back and moan in a low voice, rolling her hips experimentally against his to try and alleviate the ache she was feeling.

"Fuck..." she heard him mutter and ached her body against his, pulling him closer with her hands on his back. A hand on her hip pushed her back against the wall as he crashed his lips on hers.

"You don't know..." He panted between kisses, "how you've haunted me..." He claimed her lips in yet another kiss while his hand travelled underneath her shirt and up her side, skin against skin. Kagome shivered violently and opened her mouth eagerly when the tip of his tongue asked to be let in. She was like a ragdoll against the unforgiving hard wall, ravaged by the man she'd always wanted yet never had had the guts to claim as hers. She was pretty certain he was the one doing the claiming even now.

"First you tease me..." He panted in a controlled manner near her ear. "Then you drive me insane with need, with the promise-" She gasped sharply as his lips graced the lobe of her ear, "of satisfaction lingering just before my reach, all granted for me to take..." He pulled back, staring deep into her eyes. "Are you?" He asked, his eyes falling to her lips, looking like in his mind he was visibly imagining a dozen of ways to ravage them again. He leaned closer to her and made it seem like there was just some lone string holding him back from continuing. Oh yes, he wanted his answers.

Kagome eyed him for a moment, thinking about what she should say to him. Then she let her eyes drop back down to his lips and knowing she had his full attention she brought out the tip of her moist tongue, running the pink appendage along the line of her upper lip and over her lower lip, pulling it to her mouth while grinding her hips against his in a moment of boldness. She then slowly let the lower lip out from between her teeth, groaning needy. "Yes." She breathed, breathless.

He bent down to capture her lower lip between his and sucked it into his mouth. Kagome smirked into the delicious kiss, arching into the feel of his hands roaming over her body.

"Then I'd better continue where I left off..." He muttered against her mouth and she felt her heart skip a beat at the anticipation the promise of things to come gave her.

She nearly yelped out loud when his hand moved down her bare back, down along the shape of her bottom until it reached her bare thigh where her skirt ended. Then, ever so excruciatingly slowly, his hand started inching upwards. Kagome, all too close, lost it when his fingers brushed against her sex from over her panties.

"Shh..." He shushed by her ear, glancing at the door. "Don't alarm the guards..." Kagome bit her lips, glancing at the door. The school's security… they couldn't be caught doing what they did. Shit, he was sneaky...

Every thought however abandoned her at breakneck speed when he proceeded with what he intended on completing. Kagome had to search his mouth to press hers against it to muffle the sounds that left her as he moved his fingers past the skimpy material of her panties.

"Oh kami..!" Kagome groaned in a hushed tone, yelping and gripping onto his shoulders as he entered a finger inside of her, curling it. She felt him smirk against her skin as he continued kissing down her neck. Kagome felt all jumpy with the new feeling of being penetrated by something more than her own fingers. It felt absolutely divine and she could never guess where and how he was going to touch her the next second, which kept her on her toes.

She closed her eyes, her lips parted as she panted, feeling slightly ashamed of herself. How could she be doing this? With Mr Taisho of all people? In the classroom? She had always believed his self-control was of steel but apparently even he had his breaking point. Trust him to always teach her something new...

A quick deep thrust of two fingers inside of her made her gasp and snap her eyes wide open in wonder. She could feel and hear how she was practically dripping and that notion sent another wave of heat coursing inside of her. His fingers worked faster now that she wasn't clamping on them with her inner muscles and as the remains of the apprehension were melting off with every groan against her neck that he made for her.

"Oh Sesshoumaru!" She moaned and it earned her a brush of his thumb against her sensitive clit. Instinctively bucking her hips against his hand she let out another moan, jerking on her place and gasping when he started rubbing her clit while his fingers were pumping in and out of her in the same rhythm. Oh gosh, was he going to make her cum? She moaned as she realized that at this rate that was exactly where this was leading to.

She got the feeling she was being stared at and she wandered back from her frantic thoughts to register that he was indeed staring at her, having leaned back to watch her face as she was in the throes of pleasure. She felt herself blushing further under his heated stare, seeing him while feeling him. The mind link that it was indeed his hand underneath her skirt and actually inside of her...

"Oh please, don't stop!" She begged despite feeling ashamed and self-conscious, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall while gripping onto his shoulders, trying to control her panting and moaning in vain. She was coming so close!

His hand from her hip came down to her knee to lift the left leg up against his side, opening her up to him. Kagome let out a broken sound, her walls convulsing around his fingers once.

"That's right, come for me beautiful." He drawled out next to her ear, his low baritone voice combined with a deep thrust and a flick of her clit was what sent her cruising on the waves of her orgasm. She convulsed hard around his fingers which he still kept pushing inside and out of her slowly, easing her off from the heights.

Everything blackened in her eyes for a moment before she gradually started falling down from the high. She panted for air, her heartbeats slowing down from their sprint. She lowered her head so that her face was hiding from his eyes with her matted bangs over her eyes, obscuring the view. She felt him pull his fingers from inside of her, a wet plopping sound echoing in the silent room.

She shivered at the loss of his fingers, opening her mouth to protest that she really rather liked how he felt inside of her, but snapped her lips shut. Mortification hit her tenfold and she couldn't believe she had just come on that man's hand, much less her own teacher's. She raised her head, giving him a look of a deer in the headlights.

His hooded golden eyes heavily nailed her on her place, forcing her to watch as if in trance as he brought his hand to his face, taking a deep inhale of the fragrance. Kagome's eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat as he dipped a finger into his mouth, tasting her essence. She stifled a moan, her inner walls clamping again pleasurably, making her wish fervently that she'd have something in there to grip onto. She tensed in horror mixed curiosity as he sucked his digits clean, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Kagome could feel herself blush.

"Hn." He muttered, his usual reply to everything sounding somewhat different now... amused perhaps?

"W-what?" She asked him, stuttering and her voice a little defensive while out of breath. He lifted his moist finger to her lips, sealing them shut.

"Nothing..." He murmured, leaning against her again, bracing his hands on either side of her head on the wall. He nudged her head to the side with his mouth and leisurely started trailing kisses from the underside of her ear lower onto her neck. Kagome took a moment to gather her and another surprised moan left her lips when she felt him press his hips against hers. Gosh, he was hard! His hand trailed down her back to her ass and his lips came to hers, involving her in a heated exchange just as a knock on the door disturbed them.

They shot apart, both snapping back to the harsh reality. Kagome looked back at him with wide eyes, totally disheveled and flustered while he still managed to look presentable, just a little bit out of breath. But if you took another look, you could see his erection straining his pants and the frown that did telltale how badly he wanted to get rid of it.

Another persistent knock on the door made them think hard and fast.

Kagome straightened her skirt and ran her fingers through her hair to sort it out a little to make it seem less messy. He stepped back to her and wiped a trail of their saliva from the corner of her mouth, pulling the hem of his white shirt to ghost over the front of his pants for camouflage, their eyes meeting for a short moment before he then ushered her to the door.

His chest pushed flat against her back and a hand on her hip pulled her tight against him, molding her behind against his front from a short passing moment to let her know what she was missing now, giving a chaste kiss on the back of her neck. He then opened the door and muttered in her ear the words for her to go.

Kagome looked up at the person who had disturbed them as the door pulled open. Her heart froze. It was the principal. The old gentle man looked at her in silent curiosity and she gave him an apologizing baffled smile before Mr. Taisho all but downright showed her out to the corridor. Kagome started walking but his angered voice disturbed her.

"Miss Higurashi!"

She turned back to look at him with wide scared eyes. He sounded really angered.

"Your detention, tomorrow." He said sternly.

Kagome stared back at him and nodded quickly, obediently.

"But tomorrow is Saturday." Their principal reminded them, his lips twitching in amusement at the two.

"That is what I meant." Mr. Taisho was quick to claim. "The next school-day. Don't be late."

Kagome nodded once and started quickly walking off to the way of the exit and the parking lot.

She went to unlock her bike which was now one of the last ones in the lines. Everyone else had left by now, eager to get to spend their weekends.

Kagome wasn't sure if she was embarrassed enough to get the hell out or horny enough to wait for him to leave and meet her again at his car.

But he had told her to go, hadn't he? And had he truly been serious about that detention or had it been just an act? The irritation in his voice had been genuine when he had ordered her the detention.

Had she not known that the irritation came from another thing entirely, she would have believed he was serious as he ever could be. She had never been in detention before; up till now she had been the plain image of a good school girl. Yes, up till now that was.

Returning home, the events of the day just wouldn't stop running through her head. His touch lingered on her skin and she just couldn't stop her mind from wondering what could have happened if things could have been continued right then, right there.

That brought to her mind the short moment he had stolen to linger on that possibility as well. He had been so aroused she almost felt pity for him. Almost. She had had to lock herself in her room to have a round two with herself. To her irritation her own touch had felt nothing sort of pleasing after their heated encounter. She just wished to feel his touch again.

The weekend would keep them apart and until Monday she would have to survive the ache. Perhaps then, if he had not changed his mind, they could do something about that condition... she couldn't wait.

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	3. Detention

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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Struggling through the weekend was a feat she still wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to perform. Her thoughts had been on him all the time when she had had a moment to sit down and think. So quite often, that was.

Brisk morning air greeted her sleep-fogged self as she opened the front door and stepped out. Sun had yet to rise to the sky but it was starting to get brighter as the minutes ticked by. Gravel crunched against her shoes as she walked across the yard to the great stairs that led down to the street, away from the shrine that was her home.

She had decided to walk today to prolong the moment she'd meet him again. She had almost wanted to skip the lessons that day entirely, despite half of her brain wishing to jump his bones. A part of her was scared of what he had in store for her and yet, here she was, walking to her doom. Nah, she was already down that road so why bother climbing back.

"Hey, Kagome!"

The said girl tensed, turning to look to the direction of the voice. A tall girl with long chocolate brown hair was waving at her, making her way through the students. "Here you are! I have been looking all over for you! I yelled a couple of times you know." The young woman pouted, looking at her with her lovely brown eyes.

"Oh?" Kagome muttered, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry Sango, I was kind of... in thought?"

She got a smirk in return. "Sure you were..." Glancing at her once over she then tilted her head to the side. "Kagome, are you alright? You seem... flustered."

The miko trainee's eyes widened in shock and she lifted her hands to cover her face, groaning out loud.

"So, a new guy for you?" Her friend teased. "Finally, I'd say!"

Kagome shook her head slowly in defeat. Was she that transparent? Oh kami, the mess that was to come out of this... "It's a little, ehemn, how should I put it...?" She gulped nervously, biting her lip.

Sango raised her eyebrows. "Oh, that bad?" She smiled a foxy grin. "He's got you hooked, hasn't he?"

Kagome felt cold sweat on her skin. She glanced at her watch. "Well I should get going or else I'm gonna be late. See you, Sango." She waved hastily, all but running away.

The other woman stayed to stare after her friend. "I wonder who he is..."

Needless to say, Kagome was a shivering mess when she entered the classroom of her history lessons. Her heart was beating frantically, threatening to bounce off her chest. When the teacher then did arrive, everything around her faded away.

His eyes snatched hers the first thing as he came to the room and seeing the dazed look in hers something inside of him calmed down.

Kagome watched him walk over to his desk and lay down his folders. He unbuttoned the upmost collar button of his white shirt and gazed at the class. "Let's begin."

Kagome had to admit that whatever he was teaching, it always was gaining all her attention. Well, not always the subject he taught but rather... well, you know.

"Miss Higurashi."

Kagome's head snapped up, looking straight into the strangely golden eyes of her teacher. "Yes?" She asked, snapping out of her daze for a moment.

"The paper assigned to you." He asked, holding out his hand.

Kagome felt horror take a hold of her insides. Oh shit, she had totally forgotten. She gave him a hopeless look and shook her head, casting her eyes down. "Sorry, I..."

"Detention."

Her eyes widened and she brought them up to his again. She could hear snickering from the rest of the students. "Y-yes, Mr Taisho." She managed to pipe out, mentally cursing herself for having forgotten to do the paper. Oh kami, he was going to kill her.

One way or another.

Mentally slapping herself as the mental images of her being exhausted from pleasure filled her head, the black haired woman tried to will the blush from her face with no success. She was glad she sat in the front row.

For two reasons rather than one.

"Fuck..." She hissed from between her teeth.

"What was that?" Mr Taisho asked sharply, turning back to her. The students close to her were shaking with laughter.

"Eh, nothing..." Kagome was quick to reassure, wishing she would have had duct tape to shut her mouth with.

Bet he might have liked that...

She wanted to hit her head against the table. Hard.

Kagome had sat on her place, flustered and blushing from shame, for the rest of the lesson. She bit her lip and had written down notes of what he was teaching. Putting a reminder to herself to remember to return the assignment but of course she would have to actually write it first...

The bell rang to signal the end of the lesson and made her jump. She shut her books and put them back into her bag.

"Miss Higurashi, come here." She heard him speak out and lifted her head to see he was sitting behind his desk, hands folded over his chest.

The black haired girl sucked it up and walked to stand opposite to him, her head hung. "Yes?" she asked softly, fiddling with her hands.

He watched from the corner of his eye as the last student to leave glanced at them and then shut the door. He looked back up at her. "You detention starts this afternoon after the last lessons and will last as long as I deem necessary."

Kagome found herself nodding to his words.

"Good." He simply said, standing up and rounding the table to her. He stopped just before her, stepping closer to lean in to whisper to her ear. "Don't be late." He pled, his lips brushing 'accidentally' against the shell of her ear as he pulled back.

Kagome shivered in anticipation and looked up into his eyes. He stared back at her before smirking at her a little, making her breath catch. Then he stepped back away from her returned behind his desk, ushering her away.

Kagome hurried out of the classroom, her heart picking up its speed in her chest. She glanced at her watch, groaning. She needed to hurry!

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"I have been waiting for you." The words greeted her when she knocked on the door of his at the end of the day. She was feeling tired and her head was whirling with the remains of the math lesson she had just come from.

"I am not late, am I?" She asked him, frowning slightly. She had done her best to hurry back here as if not to disappoint him.

"Hn. I was just early." He gave in, murmuring the words as he gazed at his watch. "Very well, you were in time."

Kagome wanted to roll her eyes but she just ended up sighing. "So..." she started to ask, "What kind of detention... exactly... do you have in mind?" She asked, a little timid with her words.

His amused golden eyes met her hazel brown ones, enigmatic. Her eyes widened a friction. From the look on his face-

"There just so happens to be storage room in a need of reorganizing..." He then simply said, making her frown slightly. Just a storage room? Perhaps he was not as bad as she had thought he would be...

In the small and dusty storage room Kagome bent over a box, opening it to reveal yet another load of new books. She wiped the sweat from her brow and glanced at the shelves she had gone through, every book organized in straight lines. She sighed and picked up a lapful of books, putting them on the shelves. She'd make a decent librarian...

"Finished?" A voice startled her from her work.

She turned to give him a small smile. "Yeah, just this one box left." She affirmed.

The silver haired man walked over to her and knelt down to pick up some of the books, helping her with the rest. When the last book was placed on the shelve Kagome let out a satisfied sigh, her shoulders slumping.

He inspected her work and nodded approvingly. "Well done, Miss Higurashi."

She gave him a dry smile, just thinking about leaving to take a long hot shower before her head would hit the pillow from the fatigue. She looked at him in surprise, though, when he reached behind him and pulled the door closed, leaving them two in the relatively small room with no windows, just the lights on the ceiling.

Kagome's eyes widened in horror as his hand moved to the switch, his mischievous eyes meeting hers. Before she could object he switched the lights off, leaving them into the darkness.

Kagome tried to see but the darkness was so dense she couldn't see a thing. She nearly yelped out when a hand grasped her arm gently in its hold. She reassured herself that it was just him and that they were the only ones in the dark room. Her heart picked up, the suspense of the situation turning her on.

She could hear his breathing and feel it move the air, coming to brush over the skin of her neck in a puff. Her core constricted, making her gasp a breath. Lips ghosted over her skin and fingertips sank to the skin of her hip.

Her hands wandered out to meet with his chest, trailing over it to his sides and down. Her fingers found his belt and where he had loosely tucked the shirt into his pants. She started tugging it up, feeling him shiver at the touch of her hands against his body.

Lips ghosted over a pulse point on her throat, making her arch her neck as in to give him more room. Her hands traced his chest and sides, delighted by the way he felt. She could feel his muscles tense and ripple underneath her tracing touch.

"Miss Higurashi?" She could hear him call her name right next to her ear on his absolutely charming voice.

"Y-yes?" She breathed, unable to stop her voice from shivering as his hands slid up her back only to slide right back down again.

There was a slight silence from him. "I'll expect to see you tomorrow, the same time." He issued, his breathing teasing the skin of her neck. "There is also something that I need to discuss with you."

Kagome could feel her heart give an extra beat.

"But that can wait for tomorrow." He continued, leaning back from her. She felt him pull off and heard him walk towards the door.

The sudden burst of light streaming into the room from the lights on the ceiling making her squint her eyes. She stumbled over to him and stopped to look at him for a second. He was meeting her gaze with his and for a moment she was stunned by how unbelievably handsome he looked.

Her eyes noted the white button up shirt that was now looking disheveled on him. The flash of memory of what lay underneath that shirt made her want to gasp a breath, sure her face was aflame.

"... I'll see you tomorrow." She then confirmed, inching past him in the narrow space. She could swear he was standing at the doorway on purpose. Managing to get to the hallway she started towards the exit, her head whirling with thousands of questions and confused feelings.

Sesshoumaru leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. He watched with his eyes as she walked away from him, not being able but to notice the sway of her hips as she walked. The ridiculously short green skirt made her legs look heavenly long and alluring. He sighed partly in relief when she rounded the corner and disappeared from his view. Seriously, what was he doing?

Frowning, the man raked his fingers through his long stresses. This was unlike anything else he had done before. Sure, he had had many girls here throw themselves at his feet but yet he had never once accepted, never once dated any of his students.

She was his exception. Now why was that?

The tall man frowned. Why was she so alluring to him? What they were doing was dangerous for the both of them, it was just not sane. He couldn't quite get how on Earth he was tolerating it to start with.

Perhaps because you like it...

He raised an eyebrow. Talking to oneself... Great, there went his sanity.

He started to walk, intend on fetching his stuff and heading back home. To an empty home. What was there to wait him? To welcome him home? Nothing but fancy emptiness.

Sighing uncharacteristically he walked along the corridors of the building. He was probably just getting to a certain age...

Even though he earned decently and the legacy of his rich and lenient parents would ensure he would never have to work a day, he had found the career of a teacher worth pursuing. His parents were from time to time trying to drag him out on dinners and parties to meet the heiresses of other rich families but never before had felt the need to settle down. Never before had he been so smitten by a lady that he would have wanted to share his life with her. If he would, it surely wouldn't be with a school girl.

That was just below the line. Not to mention it wasn't even strictly legal.

He'd have to end this tomorrow. There was no point in carrying on something this hazardous. It would be better for the both of them.

With his mind set up the silver haired man walked to his gleaming black car, getting in. The tinted glasses concealed him within.

She was nowhere on the yard any more. Good.

He started to drive but his mind was not on the road as much as it was on the girl that had plagued his thoughts for the past couple of months. If he truly thought how he claimed he did, then why was he thinking how smooth her skin felt and how he would love to show her all the things he could do to make her feel desired?

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	4. Imagination

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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"Your attempts are feeble." He commented, running his tongue down from between her breasts to dip into her belly button.

"Hmn..." She agreed, arching her back. His hands roamed her skin and she could feel his breathing on her skin, exiting her. The mere thought of what would follow next got her all fired up, trembling in anticipation. He kissed his way downwards, making her almost sob.

"Kagome..."

"Sesshoumaru..." She muttered back, sucking in a breath.

"Kagome!"

The said woman shot right up, blinking her eyes open wide. She had a dazed look on her face and her lips were parted, her chest heaving to regain her breath. She looked frantically around herself, then realizing she was in her room, dressed in her nightgown and there was no one else in the room, she closed her eyes as frustration enveloped her. Flopping back down on the bed she sighed hard and long.

"Are you not awake yet?" It was her mother's voice from the other side of the door. "You will be late for school!"

"Mother, I have a late morning today." She drawled out on a rather clear voice, rubbing her temples. She didn't have the early lessons that day.

"Oh..." The voice on the other side of the door said. "Sorry then, but make sure you won't be late. You know how important it is that you finish at the university with good grades!"

Kagome stared at the ceiling, feeling her stomach sink.

"I've got to get to work. See you in the evening!"

The black haired woman listened the fading footsteps. She didn't move until she heard the front door close. She pulled herself up from the bed and sat there, staring into nothingness. Then she grunted, running her fingers through her black strands ruffled from the night. Her eyes saddened and she set her jaw. What the hell was she doing? Risking her education for the sake of one teacher... She knew how much her family had given up in order to afford her to go to the university. And now she was just throwing it all away just like that.

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She was standing opposite to the classroom door, fresh from a shower and her hair up on a high ponytail. She had carefully applied make-up and she wore her school uniform, a green skirt and a white blouse that hugged her figure thanks to tailoring. Her brown eyes were staring at the end of the corridor, waiting for somebody. She had crossed her arms over her chest and her weight was resting on her left leg, leaving the right one free to tap impatiently against the floor. She tried to remind herself she was going to ruin her new black high heels at the rate she was tapping. But she hardly cared about that now, she was too nervous.

When he then, after what felt like an eternity, he appeared walking down the corridor carrying his black suitcase, his expression was one of a surprise when he saw her.

"Miss Higurashi." He said, looking at her right in the eyes with his mesmerizing golden ones. "Is there something the matter?" He asked her worriedly, reaching for his keys while never taking his eyes off of her.

"As a matter of fact yes, there is." She spoke, hugging herself, a little unsure of what she should say. She bit her lip as she was gathering her courage and saw his eyes flicker to that movement before he turned towards the door altogether, opening it.

"Inside, Higurashi. There is something I need to talk with you about as well." He said, stepping aside and letting her enter.

She walked in and then followed him to his desk, feeling nervous more so now than what she had in the corridor waiting for him. Now she was alone with him.

"We have gone too far." She then let it out, waiting for his reaction.

He looked up at her, completely calm. "Yes, we have."

Kagome felt relief flood into her. So he acknowledged it as well.

"And I must apologize for it." He said, giving her a little but still deep bow, bending his neck to look down.

Kagome felt color creep to her cheeks, her eyes widening in surprise. She couldn't believe he was apologizing to her... A little smile broke out to her shocked features. "No. I must apologize as well." She said, giving him a little deeper bow than which he had given to her.

"It's all right." He said, beckoning her to straighten up. She smiled at him and saw his lips tug to something akin to a smile. They stared at each other for a moment, both starting to feel the tension in the air between them ebbing away. "But that still doesn't relief you of your detention." He said, smirking now.

She was caught by that boyish charm in the simple expression. "Hmn. I didn't think so." She huffed, looking down while smiling.

"Hn." He said, the sound rumbling out from somewhere from his chest. It made her eyes instinctively travel up to look at him. He opened his black case and started taking out his papers needed for the next lessons he was going to teach.

Kagome lingered. She didn't feel like leaving yet. In fact, she felt like he didn't wish her to leave yet. He hadn't told her to leave.

"Umm... Mr Taisho-sensei?" She asked, her voice a little uncertain.

"Hn?" He glanced at her before continuing the rustling of papers.

She felt her cheeks heat up and gulped. "Erm..." She frowned. What had she been about to say to him? To her horror she felt her mind going numb, nothing coming to mind.

"Yes?" He had now stopped to look at her, leaning his palms on the surface of the table.

Kagome looked up at him and smiled, baffled. "I... eh, forgot what I was about to say."

"I sometimes have that effect on people." He replied, his tone smug. Kagome was sure he did it on purpose. They both had the unbearable feeling that they should do all they could to lighten the mood between themselves. Joking was the greatest way to do just that.

"Ah." She smiled, raising an eyebrow at him while looking at him directly in the eyes. "Sure you have." She crossed her arms over her chest, unknowingly accentuating her bosom.

His eyes strayed to look at the soft looking skin on her rather open neckline. He tore his gaze from where he knew he shouldn't be looking, cursing inside his head. Hadn't he just promised to keep his dirty fingers off of her? Those thoughts didn't really help him from remembering the taste of her skin, the way it was so luxuriously soft underneath his touch-

"Mr. Taisho?"

He snapped back to reality, blinking his eyes a couple of times. She was looking at him with a concerned expression. He had suddenly just frozen up and started staring straight into nothingness, straight through her. She watched him shake his head, a movement so minute she would have missed it hadn't she been learning his body language on so many classes in the past. She knew that look on his face right now was troubled. Looking down at herself she instantly lowered her crossed arms back to her sides, getting the at first cold but then warm feeling of realizing what he had been up to.

He cleared his throat. "Don't you have a lesson?" He asked her, glancing at the clock on the wall above the door. "You will be late if you stay here much longer."

"Oh, right." She took a couple of steps towards the door. "Have a good day, Mr. Taisho sensei." She wished, wanting to be overly polite.

He just nodded. Still, his eyes followed her as if bewitched as she walked to and out of the door. Closing his black case he sat down heavily on his chair, burrowing his face into his hands. A deep sigh heaved his shoulders and the ringing of the bell screamed in his ears.

Kagome hurried along the corridor. She was smiling for she felt so relieved. Everything was fine again. It was not like she wasn't going to miss his caress and the way his lips kissed her skin... Her steps halted and she stopped on the corridor, her lips parting. Yes, they were on professional terms again as they should be. There would be no touching, no molesting...

"Hey, move it." Somebody said, brushing past her.

She stepped closer to the wall, away from the traffic of people. Resting her back against the wall she sighed, her shoulders slumping. Why was it that she was feeling so sad all of a sudden? Why was it that despite feeling relieved she was feeling refusal in her thoughts?

Their little ridiculous lapses of control had meant more to her than she had let herself to believe. It had been exciting. It all felt like a dream now.

Smiling sorrowfully Kagome continued her way along the corridor, hearing the bell ring. In a week he'd forget about it all. She'd forget. And yet she didn't really believe in what she was trying to convince herself about.

Slipping into the classroom, late as usual to her nowadays, she went to sit down beside Sango. The woman glanced up at her in a worried fashion before continuing to take notes.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked in a whisper after a minute.

"Nothing." Kagome muttered back, biting her lower lip to keep herself from pouring it all to her best friend. All that had happened between her and her teacher... It would stay as her secret.

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	5. Pouring it Out

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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Okay, so they had a deal. But promises are meant to be broken, right?

The next few days Kagome spent studying and humouring her history teacher on the ridiculous detentions both of them seemed not to be all too willing to let be forgotten. The first detention after their truce was alright, the atmosphere was easy-going and both just silently focused on their assignments: he grading essays while she did whatever chores he had in store for her. She wasn't really sure if it was even legal to keep her there working for him like a slave but actually she rather enjoyed spending her time in his company and therefore she didn't really mind.

When the week came to a close she had practically abandoned studying altogether and her mind was keenly on ways to make him notice her. On ways to get him drooling after her so badly that he wouldn't be able to resist her. She couldn't help herself.

Whenever she would turn her back to him or look somewhere else, when he thought she wouldn't notice, he looked. He looked and he stared. And she noticed him look. Once she had shifted her eyes to catch him in the dirty deed and been delighted to see his expression turn to a startled one, his eyes widen in shock before he would turn his head away. He looked so irresistible when he did that. She might have just tackled him to the floor and smooch him had her self-control been slipping. Unfortunately, she still had her backbone and there yet hadn't been an opportunity too good to be resisted.

Every passing day he was trying to be colder towards her, tried to gain that professionalism that he had lost with her. But they both remembered what had happened that one day in a lapse of control and forgetting the feelings that had been aroused that day was a mission almost too hard to be completed. He had god damn tasted her!

Every time she looked at his nimble fingers she'd remember how they felt inside of her and she would shudder. She'd remember the look in his eyes when he had thought he'd have her-

"Are you done?"

Kagome snapped back from her thoughts, looking up at Sango. The long haired woman was chewing gum, a hand lifted to her hip and an annoyed look on her face. "Did you hear a word of what I said?"

Kagome started to apologize but the brown haired woman's temper had already flared.

"I can't believe that I ranted everything that happened yesterday on our date and you didn't hear a word!" She threw her hand to the air, glaring at the black haired woman before her. They were standing at the school yard; all the classes had ended for the day.

"Sorry, I was just a little..." Kagome muttered, clearing her throat as her voice threatened to die out.

Sango let out a tired, disappointed sigh and crossed her arms over her chest.

Kagome watched the people leaving the school with half of her focus. Her heart would jump every time she thought she saw eyes like his. "So, eh, how did it go with that... Miroku guy?" She asked, giving her friend a pleading look with her eyes, hoping she'd tell her again.

Sango uncrossed her arms, looking sober. "He's terrible." She stated.

"Aww Sango, surely you do not mean-" Kagome's words were cut like they had been cut with a knife as her eyes glued on a person walking across the yard towards the parking lot of the staff's.

"But I do! He's a terrible letch, he kept groping me every chance he got and..."

Kagome felt the world around herself fade away. The tall white haired man walked by them like in a dream, or a slow motion film, his eyes "accidentally" meeting hers as he looked at her fleetingly for a couple of seconds before he was past them and kept walking. The black haired woman's lips were parted and she was breathing shakily, suddenly feeling her clothes touching her skin and noted how uncomfortable her shoes felt and that a couple tendrils of hair tickled her face.

She watched him go to the parking lot and disappear from her sight as some students walked past them, obscuring the view. She blinked her eyes, turning back to look at Sango. She was startled to find her friend staring right back at her, something having changed in her look. She looked like she knew something.

"So how long have you been seeing him?" She asked, a serious but curious tone to her voice as her eyes kept reading the soul of her victim.

"I don't know what you mean." Kagome defended, trying to play a fool. But she should have known it never worked with Sango.

"Is that drool sliding down the corner of your mouth?" She asked with a frown, reaching to wipe it away but Kagome was faster.

"Hey! I'm no drooling!" Kagome exclaimed with a frown. Then she sighed, closing her eyes. "I'm not seeing him."

"But you wished you were."

The black haired girl opened her eyes. "So what if I wished?"

"Oh please, I'm not a judge." The brown haired woman said, raising her hands to the air defensively. "Seriously, who here wouldn't be drooling after Mr Daydream?"

Kagome licked her lips, casting her eyes down.

"Why do you look so guilty?" Sango asked, bending her spine to catch her friends gaze again. "Kagome?"

"Gosh Sango, it feels like you are interrogating me." Kagome said, closing her eyes again in irritation.

"Oh I am! Tell me!" The now curious woman smiled, clapping her hands as if to get her friend to tell her faster what she was hiding.

"Oh, fine." Kagome said, rolling her eyes. She couldn't hide things from Sango - and she obviously knew too much already, and Kagome really needed a person to confine on now. If she didn't get it off her chest she was sure she would burst with anguish. "But first let's go grab something to eat. I'm starving."

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Sitting in a fast-food restaurant, an hour and a half later Kagome found herself revealing everything to her best friend. The said woman was staring at her with widened eyes, the glass of coke frozen halfway to her lips from the table surface. "Oh kami." She breathed when Kagome was done.

"Sango?"

"Oh. Kami." She said again.

"Sango!"

"What else can I say?" The woman yelped out, the colour that had vanished from her face slowly returning. She blinked her intelligent hazel eyes, shaking her head. "I can't believe it. I mean, you – the good Kagome? I swear, if I didn't know you girl, I'd laugh right into your face, saying you're a liar." She shook her head again in disbelief. "Oh kami… and I thought Miroku was bad..."

Kagome was sitting there with her shoulders hunched, looking totally miserable. "I know. I can't believe I let him do it, I'm such an idiot." She covered her face into her hands, starting to sob miserably. She felt so humiliated!

"Hey hey hey!" Sango reached over the table, grasping onto the sobbing woman's upper arms. "Calm down darling, it wasn't bad, right? You enjoyed it, didn't you? Hell, he enjoyed it as well?"

Kagome nodded a couple of times in between her sobbing.

"There's no need to worry. You two made up, he'll never touch you again. If he will, I'll beat his ass to the ground." Sango promised.

That notion was what made Kagome laugh, and the result was some strange sob infused noises. She wiped her eyes, heaving in deep breaths. "Thank you, Sango." She smiled, drying her eyes with a napkin Sango offered to her, a couple of sobs escaping her lips before they died down.

Sango slowly let go of the girl, ruffling her hair lovingly. "Aww, you are not cute when you cry like that, you know?" She muttered, pursing her lips.

Kagome laughed a little, taking out a mirror and checking her face. Yup, she looked horrible now. She wiped off the trails of mascara running down her cheeks. She looked like a panda.

Sango was eating, giving her a change to calm down or start at another topic if she wanted to. But she was still unfinished with this one.

"I know he wants me, and I have been dreaming about him since I first laid my eyes on him..." Kagome confessed with a shake of her head, sighing deeply.

Sango put her glass down, fixing her eyes on her friend. "So do you want to continue what you had with him, is that it?" She asked.

"Eh, well... no... not exactly. I mean, he promised to me and I promised to him that this was it. It will never happen again." Kagome explained with a frown. "And it's just sick as it is, he's my teacher and he could get fired. It would ruin his honour."

"True." Sango said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But I wonder why he didn't think of that beforehand?"

Kagome sighed again. Yeah, why hadn't he?

Suddenly a melody rang up in the air, signalling an incoming call. Sango pulled out her phone from her bag and then looked at the screen, lifting her eyes up to Kagome's. "It's Miroku."

"Well answer it." The other woman said with a wave of her hand.

Sango looked at the screen again, but then pushed the mute button, placing the phone on the table.

"Oh, Sango-" Kagome started to complain about her behaviour but the other woman just shushed her silent.

"Wait and see." She told her, placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her palm. They both stared at the cell phone for a moment, waiting. Soon it beeped again, signalling an incoming text message. Sango took the phone from the table, reading the message. "How sweet of him..." She said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, showing Kagome the pic he had just sent her. It showed him with a bouquet of bright red flowers, holding a sign that said "SORRY".

Kagome couldn't help but chuckle at that. "He's so sweet."

"Yeah, he'd better be after what he did yesterday." Sango muttered darkly.

"Seriously, you need to give that guy a chance." Kagome said. "He obviously isn't giving up on you."

The taller woman bit her lip, looking a little distraught. "You think?"

"Well, yeah!" Kagome said as if it was obvious. "He's been after you since he met you and he keeps asking you out, calling after you, texting you... He wants to spend his time with you! Like seriously, what else should he do?"

"Beg on his knees for forgiveness?" Sango offered, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Screw you."

"Well thank you." Sango said sarcastically.

"At least you have somebody." Kagome said with a slightly bitter tone.

"Mhn, yeah, I guess you do have a point." Sango muttered, taking a picture of herself showing off her pierced tongue and sent a message back to the guy. "But hey, you're the cutest girl on Earth, you'll find somebody in a heartbeat! Somebody better than Mr Daydream." Sango waved it away.

"I don't think that will happen. I'll stay single forever, nobody will want me." Kagome hit her head on the table surface dramatically.

"Ptf!" Sango said dismissively and picked up her phone that had yet another message from her on-off boyfriend. "I'm gonna kill him!" She swore after a a couple of seconds.

"What? What did he do now?" Kagome asked, straightening up and trying to get a glimpse of the phone.

"He's a goner." Sango said again, blushing at the content of the message – whatever it was.

Kagome sighed, looking out of the window. It was Friday afternoon again with nothing much to do. She turned back to Sango. "You know, I've met him only twice but I do like him. He makes you glow, you know." She said while drawing in the air an aura around the woman sitting opposite to her. "He's got spirit. He's unbelievably persistent. He's just the guy for you." She ended with a sure nod of her head.

"You think so?" Sango asked with hope in her voice, texting back.

"Meet up with him. Make him pay, whatever. Just kiss him. Hug him. Do all sorts of crazy things with him." Kagome ranted. "Spend time with him; let him make you feel like he's your whole world you cannot live without."

"You mean fall in love with him?" Sango asked, momentarily looking up from the screen of the phone.

"Yeah, why not. You only live now." Kagome sighed, biting to her lower lip. "Sango?" She then asked.

"Hmn?" The said woman muttered while texting away.

"If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would it be?" Kagome asked, sorrow in her tone.

"I'd go home and sleep."

"That's it?" Kagome asked flatly.

"Yeah, I'm tired." Sango sighed, still texting.

"But if you'd die in the morning, and you only had this night to live?" Kagome asked again, specifying the rules.

Sango sent the message, putting the phone away and focusing her attention on the black haired woman again. "If I only had this night?" She asked, starting to think about it. She contemplated for a couple of minutes, looking thoughtful. "Ah, you don't want to hear."

"Seriously, tell me." Kagome said.

"I'd... go home, write a letter of love to my family... give Kirara a huge hug – that damn cat is so adorable... and then I'd go over to Miroku's, drag him to a forest and spend the night with him and fall asleep in his arms, watching the stars." She ended, noting that Kagome's eyes were starting to water. "What? Kagome, it's just what-ifs. You're scaring me." She muttered. "Then what would you do?"

Kagome bit her lip, frowning slightly. "Well, I..."

"Yes?"

"I would..." Kagome started, then sighed and closed her eyes, thinking. What would she do? She frowned harder. "I don't really know."

"I'll tell you what you will do." Sango offered. "You will go home, go and take a really long relaxing bubble bath and go to bed early to clear your mind. No alcohol. No chocolate. Just you and your bed. The chiming of the wind bells and the full moon." She envisioned.

Kagome found herself liking the idea. She would need a moment of relaxation.

"And I just went and promised to meet up with Miroku for a movie and he promised to keep his hands to himself this time. Let's see to what extent he manages." Sango said, gathering her stuff and getting ready to leave. "Just try to sort out your thoughts, okay Kags? You're no cute when you wear that frown all the time." She teased her again.

"Yeah yeah..." The black haired woman muttered, gathering her stuff and leaving as well. "Have fun with him." She wished her friend luck.

"I will." Sango promised, waving and leaving, giving one last smile at her before turning her back and walking off.

Kagome turned around and took a step towards her direction to home when she ran into someone. "Ouch!" She exclaimed, faltering backwards and almost losing her balance altogether before a pair of strong arms caught her and steadied her.

"Hey, watch out where you're going." She heard the words of warning and looked up at the person. She eyes widened considerably and her heart did funny things in her chest. For a moment she thought she saw something that in the next moment was gone and she couldn't find any longer.

"S-sorry." She apologized, looking dumbly at the guy standing before her, looking at her. He looked fresh and out of this world. He was just a bit taller than what she was when wearing her high heels as she was now, had a strong athletic build that his red sleeveless T-shirt revealed. His eyes were awake and there was a dimension to them that screamed danger and excitement, adventure. His hair was stylishly cut to look edgy; it was short and looked like he had just ruffled it after waking up. Only that the colour was silvery white. And the eyes that were looking at her... they were amber coloured.

"Was that your girlfriend just now?" He asked with a curious, contemplative look on his face as he frowned slightly, straining his neck to see after the woman who had disappeared into the mass of people.

"No!" Kagome was quick to yelp out, feeling hurt. "I'm not into girls, she's my friend!"

"That's what they always say." He said with a smirk on his face that revealed his fang-like teeth that looked even whiter in contrast with his tanned skin. He looked like a surfer guy out from some advert or something, and for a fleeting moment Kagome was left thinking that he had to be model and she'd seen him in some advert and that was the reason he looked familiar although she had never before met him at all.

"You standing on your own now?" He asked her, letting go his hold on her and looking at her with an amused look on his smug face as he walked past her, to the direction Sango had gone to.

Whatever... Kagome shook her totally confused head and started quickly walking towards her home shrine. She forgot about the meeting with the handsome guy after twenty seconds. She envisioned how Sango and Miroku's date was going to go that night and how she would forget all her troubles and sleep well for once in her life. What a crazy week it had been...

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	6. Honouring the Deal

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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Next morning when Kagome opened her eyes she was welcomed by warm sun rays being cast from the window to the carpet of her room upstairs. She yawned, blinking her sleepy eyes and with a groan pulled then warm blankets from over herself, getting up from the bed. She almost instantly fell back though, the scenery blackening in her eyes.

"Must... eat..." She groaned incoherently, trying to get up again, walking towards the bathroom. Next she'd go to the kitchen...

On her way down the stairs after a couple of minutes she almost tripped over something warm and furry that was purring. On the last second she moved her foot to avoid collision with the animal and with a startled scream lost her balance.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed, finding herself at the end of the stairs in a heartbeat, sprawled all over the floor.

Buyo opened its cat-eyes and tilted it's head innocently, meowing at her stupidity. Kagome cursed the cat in her mind, testing her limbs out for broken bones while lying on the floor. Nope, nothing was broken. She got up to stand again, sighing. Seriously, this was not a good start for the day.

Limping over to the kitchen she wrinkled her nose at the pain. She'd have ugly bruises on her knees and arms later on.

Buyo the cat followed her in hopes of getting something to eat.

"Didn't Mom feed you when she left for work?" Kagome muttered to the cat while filling its cup. "Seriously." She sighed again, watching the cat inhale the food. "You're on a diet from now on."

Buyo looked up at her as if it knew what the words would mean and gave her a snort, getting back to eating. Of course, the diets never held. One look from the cat and Souta, Gramps and Mom would all feed it twice as much, exclaiming it had to be hungry because of the diet. Then Kagome would come home and get frustrated and the diet would be a distant memory...

Sitting by the kitchen table Kagome drank her tea, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She glanced at a white note that was left at the table. Seemingly she was expected to do the shopping... great.

After a quick change of clothes and having brightened up her face with some make-up she was out and about.

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Staring at the note intensively, trying to decide whether or not she was going to add something to the list or take something off it, Kagome didn't see a person standing by the stairs as she she was starting to cascade the huge stairs from the shrine grounds to the street.

"Mornin'."

"Aahk!"Kagome yelled out with a shrill voice, nearly falling down. Again. She whirled around to look at the person with large, shocked and surprised eyes. "You!" She then exclaimed, recognizing the person. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The guy crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at her. "You don't have to be rude, ya know." He muttered, seemingly offended.

"I don't know you, go away." Kagome snapped at him, starting to walk down towards the street. She mentally shook her head, weird people...

It didn't take long to hear him following her. "Hey, wait up!"

The black haired woman did not stop, she kept walking.

"Stop!" He yelled at her, stopping her by setting himself before her, on her way.

"Move." She said to him, getting irritated. This was just what she needed on a morning like this, stalkers...

"I just wanted to apologize to you, you know, for saying that you were a lesbian."

Kagome frowned at him, blinking her eyes. "What?"

"You know, the girlfriend thing?" He repeated, looking at her with his golden eyes.

Kagome stared at him dumbly for a moment. "Oh, that one!" She then said.

"You are slow." He said.

"No need to point that out, it's friggin' morning!" She snapped at him, rolling her eyes and pushing past him to continue her journey.

"Wait, what's your name?" He called after her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She yelled back at him from over her shoulder.

"Yea, I wanna know!" He yelled back. "That's why I asked!"

"Oh, and may I ask what the hell are you doing here anyway? How did you find me here?" The woman frowned at him, looking highly sceptical.

"None of your business." He answered her evasively. And was that blush creeping up on his cheeks?

He followed you. She could hear the obvious words ringing in her head.

He caught up with her again. "So, where are you going?" He asked her, nodding towards the empty bag she was carrying.

"To the grocery store." She answered him truthfully. "And I presume you will be gone when I return."

"Stop being such a bitch, seriously..." He sighed with a roll of his eyes, his handsome face set on a scowl.

"Stalker."

"Seriously." He repeated again. "I can come with you." He then offered, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.

"The hell you are." She answered.

"I can carry whatever you're buying, alright?" He offered, seemingly not giving up. He stopped her from saying what she was about to with a warning look. "Deny me and I'll be carrying you to the store. Now, keep walking." He persuaded her, waiting for her to get going.

She stared at him for a moment in total confusion. She took a step, stopping, watching him take a step as well. She took two steps. He took two. She took one back. He mimicked her.

"Aw, come on." He sighed at her, pulling his hands out of his pockets, getting ready to grab her.

"Okay okay! I'll walk!" She yelped out, holding her hands up in defence and surrender.

"Hmn." He huffed, giving her a smirk.

She gave him one last weird look before starting to walk, he following by her side. She kept casting him glances side-ways, feeling butterflies start fluttering in her stomach. He was awfully handsome...

"You okay?" He asked her, suddenly turning and catching her staring at him as they walked.

"Eh?" She gasped, "I'm fine." She turned to look ahead of herself again. Damn.

She heard him sigh. "So... what's your name?" He asked, looking forwards.

"... Kagome." Kagome found herself answering. "Yours?"

"Inuyasha."

She tasted the name on her tongue. "That's a funny name."

He gave out a little chuckle, the voice making her heart give out an extra beat. What the hell was wrong with her physique suddenly? "Yeah I hear people say that." He commented. "Bird*."

Kagome blinked her eyes, looking up at him. "Aww shit, you're familiar with that song too?"

"Who isn't?" He huffed, turning to give her a charming smile.

She was swept away by all the charm and lively energy in that mischievous expression, warming her from head to toe.

"Stop. Your staring at me." He said, feigning hurt, giving her an even bigger smile that turned into a grin, making her blush and turn away.

"Eh, so?" She muttered, biting her lip.

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An hour or so later they were returning from the store, he carrying a bag and she stubbornly carrying one as well. But they'd made a compromise – his was heavier.

"I'll carry this to the top." He told her, gazing up at the killer stairs leading up to the shrine. "So... living in a shrine, does that make you a miko?"

"In your dreams..." She muttered back at him, but then looked up at him. "Well, yeah... I've had some training... but being a miko..."

"It's not really your piece of cake?" He offered, catching it from the tone of her voice.

"Yeah." She muttered, arriving at the top of the stairs, stopping. He lowered the bag to the ground, looking up at her again.

"Well, see you." He then said, looking at her straight into her eyes.

"Yeah..." She found herself saying, watching him smile one last time before turning and hopping down the stairs two at a time. She waited and watched him go to a red sports car that was parked on the other side of the street. Funny, she hadn't noticed that earlier on. Perhaps because she had been too busy staring at him? He got in and started the engine, speeding off, the roar of the engine sounding all the way up at the shrine yard.

Kagome turned back around to start for the house but saw her grandfather walking over the yard to her. "Oh, do you know that boy?"

"Eh, well..." She did now. "Sort of, yes." She answered, biting to her lip, watching the old man look thoughtful.

"He came here to pray early in the morning." The old man told her granddaughter. "Was really helpful too." He then added as an afterthought, running his hand down his beard.

"Oh, well, that was really nice of him." Kagome wasn't liking where the discussion was turning...

"In your age, when women we met such nice men, they married them." He clapped his hands together, smiling like an old person did when remembering something nice that had happened to them a long time ago. "Ah, life was so simple back then..."

"Hmn..." Kagome nodded, reaching for the groceries bag Inuyasha had been carrying. "I'll take these inside." She said, lifting the bag up, realising then what a life saver the guy had been. The bag was really heavy!

Once she got to the coolness of the house from the heat of the spring sun, she lowered the bags on the kitchen table, starting to sort out the products to the cabinets. Her mind pictured out the white haired guy that had so unexpectedly appeared on her doorstep that morning. She shook her head. It almost felt like a dream and she would have believed it really was too, only if she wouldn't have had his phone number written on the back of her hand. Like when did that happen?

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Next Monday came persistently as always, bringing her yet another day of History lessons.

They were waiting in the corridor and Kagome was talking with three other girls that she knew from before. They had been in the same school and year class before the university.

"I had a dream of him last night." One of the girls, a loud mouthed darling, spoke up. "Aww, I wished he'd even look my way once today... That'd so make my day..." She sighed dreamily.

"Oh, but you know what I heard?" Another, short haired girl who always wore a headband, smirked.

"What?" The third, Ayumi was her name, asked, clutching her books to her chest.

"He has a girlfriend." She sang on a sing-sang voice, the smirk widening at their surprised faces.

Kagome could feel the colour draining from her face. "He has?" She asked weakly, panic rushing in her veins. Was their secret out? Had Sango told somebody?

No... Sango wouldn't do that. She had trusted her with secrets before and they were kept locked into her friend, for sure. Then... had there been somebody that had witnessed their actions?

"Yeah, there's this rumour that he has had a girl for ages." Erin rolled her eyes. "I hear it from Yura so it must be true."

"That bitch, neh?" Yuka, one of the three, huffed. "Then it must be." She agreed. Yura was known for spreading the gossip around the campus and stealing most of the boyfriends, too. She had even been caught with a male teacher before. The guy was put out of duty after the incident.

"Aww, that's a shame..." Ayumi sympathised, although she was more of the studying type, there to learn, not to drool after the teachers.

"Yeah... you have any idea who that woman is?" Kagome asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"I heard she's a model." Ayumi surprised them by saying.

"Since when did you know the gossip around here?" Yuka nudged her shy friend on the shoulder. "But yeah, that's what I heard too. She seems to be rich and famous, you know, something his calibre." She said with a disappointed sigh, closing her eyes. "Bye-bye marrying Mr. Taisho..." She muttered miserably, sniffing.

"Oh Yuka, get a life." Erin said, shaking her head at the woman.

Kagome felt her insides freeze up. Her face went expressionless. Her thoughts died and for a moment all she heard was emptiness. All she felt was numbness. Could it really be..? He had been dating while... with her...

"Oh, there he comes!" Yuka piped out, her eyes turning dreamy and a smile appearing on her lips as she spotted their teacher. More than half of the girls were grinning like idiots, casting shameless glances at the man who ignored them all, opening the door and letting them in.

Kagome pushed in from the doorway right after her friends, looking down and shielding her eyes with her bangs. She didn't feel like letting him see her expression.

When he spoke she didn't hear his voice, all she heard were the words of the gossip taking over her senses.

"Here are the essays you wrote." He spoke out, coming to stand close to her, ruffling the papers and reading the name on the first paper. He walked around calling names and giving out the sheets of paper.

"Higurashi."

Kagome lifted her head, looking into his direction but not directly at him, not bothering to say "yes, here". He knew her name and she knew he she knew he knew it.

He walked over to her and put the paper right in front of her on the desk, his hand lingering there for a second longer than it should have. It made her automatically look at his hand and notice something was a little off.

There was a ring on his finger.

A brand new one at that, she had never seen it there before. As if bewitched she lifted her eyes up to look into his, finding him staring back at her. There was something unreadable in his eyes and a part of him was obviously pinning her down, waiting for her reaction, forcing her to take it and understand.

"I'll be right back." She muttered to him on a sober voice, sounding more coherent than what she felt.

"Very well." He nodded, continuing on his way.

The black haired woman rose up from her seat and thinking better of it, took her bag with her and left the class room, leaving the atmosphere there behind. Once she got to the corridor and got the door closed she started running. She ran, ran until she was out of the building, out of the yard, in the street, blending into the people there. And then she cried, cried heart wrenchingly.

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A woman with short ink black hair was chewing strawberry flavoured bubble gum, occasionally sighing in a bored fashion. She inspected her blood red nails, her soullessly dark eyes searching for her next victim, standing at the end of a less crowded corridor. Her eyes followed interesting specimens and occasionally she flashed her white smile at them, licking her lips daringly and watching in glee as the poor boys blushed.

"Yura."

The said woman whirled around, her lips pulling to a delighted smile. "Mr Taisho-sensei..." She smirked with her best innocent face.

"You've been a good girl." The man muttered at her, standing close to her and passing something into her designer bag as no one was looking.

"Hmn, I know." She said throatily, smirking and looking at him like she would eat him alive with pleasure, any time.

He gave her an aloof stare. "The rumour spread out efficiently. Your services have been appreciated." He turned on the spot and walked off, leaving her staring at his handsomeness.

Yura pouted, sticking her hand into her bag and taking out the stack of bills. She glanced over at them once and put them back. "Nice doing business with you." She said to no-one, leaving. That sure had been easy money. It would be a shopping day today.

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Kagome frowned hard at the ceiling of her room. She had crossed her arms over her chest and was gritting her teeth, killing the urge to go back to the school and scream at him. It wouldn't help but maybe it would indeed make her feel better?

Sighing hard, angry at the tear streaked face that she could see staring back at herself if she looked into the mirror, she tried to settle her thoughts.

Fuck it, the history course was at its finish line. There were only two more weeks, which equalled some ten lessons. She could always say that she had been forced to leave to a foreign country to see a sick relative or something... she could do the needed essays at home and return them, never having to speak to him again.

Biting her lower lip in thought she sniffed and dried her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Damn..." Why the hell did it hurt this much? She felt so... humiliated. To let herself believe that he might have seen something in her... that there actually would have been something more than hasty, lust-having-clouded-judgement groping sessions in empty classrooms... that they could have been more than just two loveless people seeking momentarily comfort...

She rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into the mattress. She hated him. Hated the smell of his hair, the feel of his hands on her skin... the way he would kiss-

"Argh! Stop it!" She yelled at herself, pulling at her hair and groaning as if she was agonized. She never wanted to think of him again! He would never play in her fantasies, never again...

Taking a few deep breaths she rose up to sit, glancing over at the night stand. There it was, a lone phone number written down with mixed emotions. She reached for it and her cell phone. It would be perfect use now. She needed a change. She needed some danger. And most of all, she needed...

Her fingers froze on the touch screen. She breathed deeply, calming her voice. She couldn't sound hysteric nor like she had just had a massive crying session, now could she?

She pushed the last number in and lifted the phone to her ear. "Moshi moshi. This is Kagome." There, now it was done. Headlong to a road with no coming back...

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Author's Note: here is a translation of the Japanese children's song used in a game I presume is similar to that of tag that Inuyasha and Kagome referred to:

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,

when will you come out?

In the evening of the dawn,

the crane and turtle slipped.

Who stands right behind you now?

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	7. Boyfriends

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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She hated going back to school. But she had no other option.

Monday, the day she hated was here again. But something was holding her back and she left to hang out in the city in the morning of that day to fool her mother and grandpa – never making it to the lessons that day, nor the following day. She just didn't want them to know she was missing lessons. On Wednesday she decided she couldn't stay away for any longer, she had had her time to calm down and distance herself, now she needed to perform her duties. She couldn't stay away just for the sake of one stupid teacher.

It felt like he was everywhere. When she'd move in a crowd she'd see someone who looked like him and panicked – only to look better and see it was just somebody of his height, had the same kind of hair or smirk on their lips... Moved somewhat like he, had the same kind of tone of voice... She was startled, overall jumpy and nervous. She really didn't want to run into him. She wanted to avoid him at all costs.

She felt ashamed. She felt furious. She felt betrayed. She felt fooled.

How could he have done something like that to her? Why did he have to profusely hurt her like that? Had he wanted to feel young before committing himself to marriage? Had he wanted to test his appeal, were school girls a fantasy of his? What was the deal? She was just a plaything of his. He'd use her and then thrown her away.

The more she thought about it the more she got lost and hung into one outcome: he was a bastard.

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"Sango!" Kagome smiled, surprised. She had been anxious to meet her friend. She momentarily forgot about her own troubles and remembered to ask; "Oh, how was your weekend?"

Sango smiled irresistibly and then started to laugh happily. "Well, it was totally wonderful." She blushed while smirking, something deep and foreign in her eyes. Love. "I met with Miroku and we kind of... spent the weekend together."

Kagome's eyebrows rose to disappear under her bangs and she clapped her hands, looking delighted. "Aww, Sango, I'm so happy for you!"

"He was so sweet..." Sango sighed dreamily, smiling that way that happy people in love often did. "And we talked about anything and everything and he'd just hold me and-" Then she blushed ever more and quickly changed the subject. "But hey you, where have _you_ been? Haven't seen you in a while." She looked at her friend with her hazel eyes, a serious look in them now.

Kagome huffed, a guarded, sour look overtaking her features. "So you haven't heard the rumour, huh?" She asked, her lips thinning.

"What rumour?" The other woman was genuinely confused.

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, frowning in anger. "That he's engaged. Was the whole time while playing around with me."

"Oh no!" Sango clasped a hand over her mouth, shocked.

"Yeah." Kagome looked at the floor, closing her eyes momentarily. She then fisted her hands and hit the wall next to her angrily, not caring about the pain that milliseconds later erupted into her system. She welcomed it. It number the other feelings nicely. "It seems he had been engaged to another woman the whole time while, well, you know... When I went to his lesson he just made it absolutely sure I saw the ring, he came flaunting it to my face!" She confessed to her best friend, her hands starting to shake and her teeth gritting together. "I don't care what happens to him! Let him marry that bitch, let him die – I don't care!" She was in denial. But it was the only way to feel to not to crumble down into miserable pieces.

"Kagome..." Sango said quietly.

"But it's okay. Life goes on, right?" She lifted her head and put a smile on her face. But the smile was see through, it really was more like a grimace. She pulled out her cell phone and showed the screen to Sango. "Look, I've got a boyfriend." She smirked now.

Sango blinked in astonishment, looking at the picture.

"What, you are not pleased?" The dark haired woman joked, waiting for the reaction.

"No, it's not that. He's very handsome." She looked back from the picture where her friend was trying to smile at the camera (failing terribly at it) while a guy had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, looking a little arrogant but he had a gentle look about his face, something about him that told he might really have a good heart. The picture seemed to have been taken at an amusement park somewhere. "Kagome... I don't know exactly how I should... um, say this but..." The brown haired woman fidgeted, meeting her eyes. "He seems like a nice guy. And he deserves an equally nice girl, someone who is there because she likes him for who he is, for the right reasons-"

"And I cannot be that girl?" Kagome snapped back, an awkward silence falling over the two.

"I didn't say that." Sango replied. "Let's not fool ourselves, you starting to date so soon after what happened... how could you be committed? Do you seriously date him because you are not trying to prove something to yourself, to get revenge on Sessh-"

"-Don't try that psychology on me!" Kagome yelled out, frowning in irritation. "What would you know? You haven't been through what I have been! With your precious little Miroku – how could you understand?" She felt horrible immediately as the words had left her lips. But she couldn't undo them. She couldn't take them back.

Sango had a really serious, sober look on her face now. "I'll see you later." She curtly said, turning to leave. "Think about what I said. It's good to have people in your life but just don't get your heart broken again so soon." With that she left, leaving Kagome standing alone in the corridor.

She closed her eyes again, a tear tickling down her face.

What was she doing? Fighting with her best friend just wouldn't do.

Opening her eyes she sniffed, feeling like she was standing naked in front of a thousand people who were looking at her with distaste. She tried to push down her frustration but the tears just kept coming. She hated being this vulnerable. How could she handle this if she wasn't strong?

The sooner he would be out of her life, the better. The sooner all she could feel towards him was numbness and the sooner she'd distance herself emotionally from him, the better.

Then she could focus on living and on Inuyasha. Even if he'd just want to keep her there for a moment, not any longer. She just longed to feel accepted. Longed to feel that she still had her value as a human being. That she wasn't cast out, that she was still a part of something although she had been rejected.

It was so silly. So stupid. So... meaningless. She had been such an idiot to have gotten fooled by him. She just needed to forget and Inuyasha could make here do just that.

And to forgive? She wasn't sure if she could do that any time soon.

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The classes were boring.

The bell rang and his students started leaving, happy to get away from their moody teacher.

"You, stay." He said to one particular girl who eyed him with distrust. "I have something to talk with you about."

She reluctantly stayed behind the others, coming closer to his desk, folding her arms across her chest. "Yes?" She asked. Was it about her texting away on the phone when she had been supposed to write down notes?

"I am under the impression that you are a friend of Miss Higurashi Kagome?" He asked her tentatively. He saw the sudden tensing of the girl and the distrust that rose into her eyes. "She hasn't been attending my lessons and-"

"Neither would I if I were her." She snapped out spontaneously.

"Excuse me?" He straightened his back, his voice silkily sweet.

The girl, Sango was her name, glared now. "Let me get this straight. I know what you two have been up to and I warn you: stay away from Kagome." With those icy words she strode off the classroom, leaving him behind. He wasn't sure of how long he had been staring after the woman, just snapped out of it finally though, feeling restless.

How had Kagome reacted? He could remember her leaving the classroom back then only to not return at all. And now her friend was threatening him. Letting out a sigh he leaned against the desk on his elbows, laying his head into his hands.

He was feeling a little guilty. Kagome was a nice, mostly innocent and hard working girl. She didn't deserve what he had pushed her through. But what he had done had been the best solution to the problem that had evolved. He had needed to break things up so that she wouldn't be left longing after him. Hate was much better than her still keeping alive some fancy hopes for him.

And if she'd not let him close to her, there'd be no way what happened could happen again. He couldn't go and ruin her... spoil her beautiful soul.

He huffed softly to himself. Since when had he become so corny?

When the bell rang again he swung his light coat over his shoulder and gathered his stuff, leaving.

What he had been doing with that student had been far too dangerous. Although they had met after the school hours and she had been willing – no, those were not any explanations that would justify what happened. He had put shame on the honourable post of a teacher's. His honour would be gone totally if he would keep on teaching. His job here was tainted now. He would teach the term to an end and then he'd leave his resignation papers.

At least father would be happy to get his son back into the business world.

And what came to that girl... she'd forget about him soon. She was, after all, responding to his cheating like he had hoped her to. It was good. It'd be over with relatively painlessly and swiftly. He'd just remain an unpleasant memory she'd get rid of and move on. Yes, and it was good that way.

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**Some months later, when Kagome has graduated:**

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It was summer. Summer of freedom!

Kagome had gotten herself good papers from the university and applied for a post at a large international company. She was going to start as an assistant but the pay was relatively good and she'd be able to pay her bills and live on her own.

Inuyasha and she were still together. Although their relationship was kind of a strange one. They met like some five times a month and he'd call her every now and then, only to disappear for days and then show up again with no explanation. She let it be that way. She didn't ask where he went or what he did. She really had the feeling that perhaps she didn't want to know after all. He'd be sweet and he'd be caring. He'd kiss her and sometimes his hands would wander but before he'd get to doing something more, he's stop as if he was ashamed of himself or something was holding him back.

It was a bit frustrating but never-the-less, it was just how things were now. Sometimes it felt like he wanted to be more than friends and sometimes she'd start thinking that friends would be what they'd become at best.

"Hey! Come on already!" A loud voice coming from down stairs yelled.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She yelled back, taking her suitcase and dragging it after her. She heard the stairs creak as someone walked them up and saw a red cat appear and then met the startling amber eyes. It was cruel that they just had to be that colour. But he couldn't help it, so it really didn't matter that much.

"Oi, let me take that for you." He snatched the suitcase from her a proceeded to carry it downstairs. She watched him, shirtless and wearing blue jeans-shorts. He looked so _hot_.

Following him outside her eyes strayed to watch his muscles ripple underneath the tanned, smooth skin as he walked to his car. She saw somebody rather familiar waving at her from the back seat. "Kagomeee!"

"Kagome-san!" A man peeked out behind the woman, smiling at her in a welcoming. It was Miroku, Sango's husband-to-be. The two had engaged not so long ago and were planning their wedding already.

"I'm so happy that we could come with you guys!" Sango talked, excited. Kagome smiled back at her. They had mended everything and were in good terms. Sango was the type that couldn't hold grudges for too long. The woman was really a life saver and after some time she had started approving of Inuyasha as well.

"Keh, it's a big house." The said guy huffed, sounding a little uncomfortable. Kagome sat on the front seat, pulling the door shut. He started the engine and started driving. It was a cabriolet and the cool air messing with their hair felt really good as the sun was trying to exhaust them with it's heat. They were going to spend a month in a villa that belonged to Inuyasha's father, but since no one had been using it recently he had offered it to his son. Kagome knew a little about Inuyasha's parents, his father seemed to be quite rich - and to borrow Inuyasha's own words, 'messed into his life quite often' - while his mother on the other hand had died when Inuyasha had been just a small kid.

The scenery flashed past them and Kagome was happy to get out of town for a change. It was just such a welcome change.

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	8. Do you believe in fate

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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"You gotta be kidding me..." Sango sighed from the back seat.

"Keh, it's just a house..." A certain hot head on the driver's seat muttered, pausing to enter a security code to open the heavy gates keeping intruders away.

What they were looking at was a luxury villa. It was a traditional looking two storey wooden house that had been painted in the colours of black and white, with some dark browns here and there. It looked like a small fortress situated near the sea. The dark roofs that were curved upwards at the ends looked really sophisticated.

They unloaded the car of the suitcases and went in behind Inuyasha, who was walking around with ease, like he knew the place all over. He took them upstairs and showed them their rooms.

"You guys sleep here." He opened a door to a huge room with an equally huge bed. Kagome saw the exchanged look between the lovers and almost blushed, hoping Inuyasha would be sensible enough to situate them far away from the engaged couple, she just didn't want to be forced to listen to what ever an engaged couple might be doing in the darkness of the night.

"This is yours." Inuyasha announced, opening a door at the end of the corridor.

Kagome stepped in to a roomy room that had windows overlooking the sea almost right behind the house and also a window to the left, overlooking the neighbouring villas. Every house along the sea shore was very grand and fenced to keep their privacy. The room in itself was simple; it had a large built-in closet, a bed and a night-stand by the bed. The walls were creamy coloured and the floor was made from dark hardwood, looking very sleek.

""My room is just across from yours." Inuyasha explained before leaving. Kagome looked back at his back from over her shoulder, before turning to look out from the windows at the sea that she was facing. She sighed in disappointment, letting her head nod down. So they would be sleeping in different rooms...

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The sun was shining down on them and Kagome had decided to go sunbathing with Sango. The boys had left and gone shopping for some food and stuff.

"Isn't it beautiful here?" Sango said, laying herself down on the warm sand.

"Yeah, it really is." The black haired woman stood there, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand and gazing out at the sea. The water glimmered and the wind made the waves dance around wildly.

They didn't talk, just were.

Time flowed past and the seagulls hovered over them, then disappeared somewhere and occasionally screeched. The wind was picking up and Kagome was starting to feel cold in her bikini.

"I hear a car." Sango then said, not moving and Kagome couldn't tell if she had even opened her eyes for she had black sunglasses on.

"I'll go see what they brought." Kagome said, standing up.

"Bring me something to drink, will you?" The other woman yelled after her.

Kagome ran to the house, shivering from the cold. She went in from the entrance on the beach side of the house, wondering which corridor she should take. She took the one to the left, following the sounds coming from somewhere the house. She arrived to the front door, noticing the keys on the table next to the door that had not been there before.

"Inuyasha?" She called, looking around herself. "Miroku?"

She heard footsteps from upstairs and took to the stairs. She frowned slightly, seeing the door to her room open.

"Hey, what are you doing in my room-" She stopped as if she had walked to a wall upon seeing the person in the room. Long silvery white hair... Her heart refused to work.

"I was just about to ask you the same." He said and as he turned to look at her, she held her breath. When their eyes met she saw the shock running over his features.

For a moment they just stared, then just as she saw him open his mouth to speak something she retreated, running back along the corridor and downstairs. She was in shock, she couldn't think. But she knew she needed to get the hell away. However, as she was skipping down the stairs she looked back over her shoulder to see if he was following her and stepped past the step, losing her balance.

A scream echoed in the house, followed by a crash.

"Higurashi!"

She grimaced, holding her head in pain. She had fallen down the last few stairs and onto the floor. Oh kami-sama she just hated stairs!

"Higurashi..." She looked up to see him walking down the stairs, analysing with his eyes what had happened. He stopped to look her once over for injuries. Her knee was bleeding.

"Stay. Don't move." He said, disappearing somewhere. She tried not to move, hunched on the floor. Her elbow was hurting as did her head which she had hit quite badly when she had fallen. She cursed out loud, groaning. This stupidity of hers just had no end...

He returned with clean tissue paper and first aid plaster for her knee.

"I can do that myself." She said, holding a hand out. She didn't want him to touch her.

He let her have it her way and stood there looking at her.

"Now, Miss Higurashi, what are you doing in my house?" He asked, and he was looking kind of angered now. "This better not be a joke."

"A joke?" She questioned. "A joke!" Her voice rose a level and she glared up at him, not doing so well at being intimidating in her bikini. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling naked in front of his gaze. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"This is my property." He said.

Kagome felt a wave of nausea hit her. Wait... Inuyasha had told her that the place belonged to his father... She clasped a hand over her mouth.

He was quick to hoist her up and to a bathroom. She threw up. Once she was done she was shaking, feeling like she could pass out any minute.

"Higurashi, did you hit your head?"

"Yes..." She hissed from between her teeth, having closed her eyes as she was trying to not to sway on her place.

She could hear him sigh. She leaned against the sink, keeping her eyes closed. She slowly opened her eyes but then close them again, this time losing her balance and stumbling. He caught her and steadied her but she was getting incoherent.

He led her upstairs and to the bedroom she had claimed to be hers and laid her down on the mattress, throwing a blanket over her. She looked like she was in pain for a minute or two before she slowly started to ease off.

He sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at her face for some time. He only startled back to reality when somebody's footsteps came to the room's door.

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Her memory was fuzzy and she had some vague thoughts of waking up to yelling and then somebody trying to wake her up a couple of times before succumbing to darkness. She blinked her eyes open. As she moved to get up she instantly was forced to lay back down as a wave of pain hit her. She moaned in pain, holding her head.

"Ah, you are awake."

She turned to see it was Miroku who entered the room, smiling at her gently, perhaps even slightly amusedly. "You should take painkillers, I think." He pointed over at the night stand beside her. "Can you sit up? Should I get Sango?"

Kagome started to get up and didn't even get to answer him before he was gone yelling for his girlfriend. Instead of just Sango, they got three people.

"Kagome! What the hell happened?" Iunyasha came to the room, looking pissed. "He hurt you or something?"

She blinked her widened eyes, looking from between Inuyasha and the person standing behind everyone at the door. She tried to remember. "No..." she frowned. "Wait... is he..." She frowned harder. "Your father?"

"Huh? Who?" Inuyasha was a little lost. "You sure you okay?"

Kagome glared at him. "That freaking bast- I mean, that man! He scared the hell out of me!"

"Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha then got it and looked sick himself. "No fucking way he is! That bastard is my brother. Half brother."

Kagome sighed in relief. Then she halted, looking up at Inuyasha. "You mean he's your brother?" She yelled out. "How can he be your sibling? No way can he be! Sango, tell me I really hit my head bad!"

"Unfortunately what the runt is saying is the truth." They all turned to look at the tall man who was standing at the door. He was staring at Kagome. "You've really fallen low."

Kagome gave him the most blood freezing glare, rising up to sit and looking like she was going to go and strangle him.

"Everybody out!" Sango ordered and all but shoved the men out of the room.

Once the door closed Kagome started sobbing hysterically. "Tell me this isn't true!" She sobbed. "Pinch me!" She pinched herself until Sango stopped her, worried.

"It seems to be true." The woman said. "Their father owns this place and they both get to use it but Sesshoumaru didn't know Inuyasha was to be here. Seemingly the two don't really get along with each other." She shook her head. "He's on a business trip and needs a place to stay."

"Well he can go to a hotel!" Kagome groaned.

"But we are guests here!"

"Then I'll go!" Kagome threatened.

Sango sighed, holding out the medicine for her friend. "Take this and stop being so difficult already..."

"But-"

The brunette woman gave her warning look. "We came here to have a fun, relaxing holiday. Don't mess things up now, okay?"

"You are unbelievable..."

"I know." Sango smirked. "You aren't allowed to get up the bed today, maybe next morning. Get some sleep."

Kagome grimaced. She didn't want to sleep. She sat there on the edge of the bed. "Tell Inuyasha to come here, please." They really needed to have a talk.

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She was really hard to not to look at when she was prancing around in her bikini.

The older of the Taisho brothers – half-brothers – was sitting in the living room area of the house, concentrating on his computer. Occasionally he would be distracted by the voices coming from outside. They were playing volleyball.

He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She had been avoiding him keenly since the day he had discovered she now lived in the villa and dated his sibling.

His mind blanked out and after a while he shook his head to clear it. He couldn't really work here.

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"I'll just take a quick shower!" Kagome yelled as she disappeared inside the house. She danced the way to her room, rummaging through her stuff to find a towel.

Letting down her ink black stands of hair she wrapped the towel loosely around her and walked towards the bathroom on the first floor.

She had just put her hand on the door handle when the door opened. She startled, taking a step back.

Amber eyes met hers and she couldn't help but have her eyes stray to look him once over. He looked so damn good with just a towel wrapped around his hips, covering what she didn't want to see and die in embarrassment.

His eyes slanted but the look in them wasn't harsh or denying, it was just challenging. The blush that had appeared on her cheeks told him quite a lot.

Kagome could feel her lips part as her jaw slackened but she didn't really have any conscious control over it. Her mind wandered back in time. It had been awkward three days living under the same roof. Today he had just stayed and hadn't left for work like he usually did. She had seen him working on his lap top, a troubled frown marring his face.

"Well, Ka-go-me, are you going to stand there all day just staring at me?" His eyebrow rose, mocking her as his eyes were intently pinning her down on her place with the intensity of a sun's.

She startled. He just called her by her name.

Quickly averting her eyes and looking at the floor at her feet instead she stepped to the side to let him out. She looked back up at him, noticing now the silver mass of hair framing him, glistering droplets of water dripping from the strands. Some of his bangs – and they suited him very well too – had fallen to cover his eye. He didn't move instantly and she opened her lips to say something, then gulping the noise down, looking away again.

"Yes?" He asked, a sigh in his voice as he saw clearly what she had been about to do.

She got the determination from the fact that he cared enough to know. "Why?" She asked, looking at him with beginning tears in her eyes. Damn it but she hadn't thought she'd start crying. Perhaps the whole ordeal had just been stressing her more than she had dared to admit.

He glanced to both ends of the corridor and then dragged her back into the bathroom and closed the door after her. He glared at her and for a moment looking slightly angry before he leaned to place his hands on either side of her head, pinning her so against the door. "What why?" He grunted out, staring deep into her eyes.

Kagome could feel her heart starting to beat like crazy. She recognized the move; he was trying to intimidate her. But she wasn't going to let him have it work on her. She could finally confront him about everything and kami-sama knows she was going to.

"Why'd you do it!" She yelped out. "If you knew you were going to get married!"

He glared at her still.

Kagome frowned in anger mixed frustration. "It would have been just fine if it had just been about... I don't know... some fun with a stupid enough student! But then you... you..." The words were getting caught to her. "You... married."

His gaze darkened. He closed his eyes and sighed, and for the first time she saw him looking so vulnerable she could imagine him break. He snapped his eyes open, catching hers and she startled.

"I never married."

Silence.

More silence.

Kagome blinked and then a swarming beehive started working inside her head, bothering her with millions of questions more. "What?" She then finally yelped out.

"Shh." He shushed, leaning in so that their noses were almost touching. It effectively shut her up. "Don't be so loud."

He looked in satisfaction as she blushed even more, looking like she was trying to get through the wooden door and away from him. But in the meantime her body was responding to him, teasing him.

"What... happened to her then?" She asked, feeling uncomfortable with her questions. It was utterly rude to be asking him these kinds of things.

"To whom? There never was a woman." He said.

"You mean... you weren't engaged?" She looked utterly lost now. He was all too close. Her thoughts were getting fuzzy.

"Hn that is what I mean." He agreed. He liked the way the shock spread all over her features.

"Then that was just-"

"Something to get you off of me." He finished the thought.

A tear actually slid down her cheek. "Was I that terrible?" She asked some bitterness in her tone.

He sighed, his gaze wondering down to her lips distractingly. He frowned, leaning in and claiming her lips. She gasped to the kiss, going almost boneless. His hand caressed her face, thumb brushing over her cheekbone caressingly.

After a couple fleeting seconds he pulled back, staying close to her and shifting his eyes to give her one last look into the depth of her eyes before stepping back and pulling her from the door to open it and leave.

She slowly slid down to sit onto the floor, shocked, out of breath and confused out of her mind. She couldn't help the hysteric burst of laughter. He liked her. He really liked her after all.

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	9. Changing Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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She didn't let it get to her head although it was indeed very tempting.

She lay awake on her bed in the night, her fingers absent-mindedly twisting strands of her ink black hair. Sighing for the hundredth time that night she pouted, closing her eyes to open them again, turning her head to gaze at the sky outside. The stars were shining bright, undisturbed by city lights. The moon had risen high up, illuminating everything.

Throwing off the blanket she got up to sit, cursing in her mind the fact sleeping would be impossible. Sliding her legs over the edge of the bed until they touched the smooth wooden surface of the floor she contemplated going back to bed and tying a scarf over her eyes for some kind of shield from the moonlight – for the curtains helped a little – but then she got all sorts of twisted images and quickly shook her head, gulping once. Ever since the "meeting" with her ex-teacher in the shower she had been a little weird.

She was confused, to say the least. Inuyasha was so confusing to her; even though they were dating – or so she presumed – he kept a certain distance. Yet having his half-brother living in the house now he had become somewhat... protective over her. Every time Kagome and Sesshoumaru would exchange glances Inuyasha would come up with something to do outside or anywhere far away from his half-brother. Perhaps that was indeed a good thing, considering how messed up her head was at the moment.

She took the stairs downstairs, deep in thought. She had sworn after all that she'd never fall for him again... yet here she was, heading the wrong direction...

Her hand reached for the handle of the door leading to kitchen and as she slid the door open she saw light and halted, peeking in. Her eyes widened upon seeing the person in the room lift his head to look to the door and she opened it fully, stepping into the kitchen.

His golden eyes glanced at her and then returned to the paper he was reading. "Another nocturnal?"

She hesitantly walked further in, towards the fridge which was all too close to where he was standing. "Ah, yeah... I guess so..." She muttered, trying to look at the floor or something else than him in his black slacks and white button-up shirt... with rolled sleeves and a few unbuttoned... buttons...

She startled back to the moment, realising she had halted at the fridge. Blushing she rummaged through it, pouring herself a glass of orange nectar. She gulped it down quickly, too quickly. She started couching. It embarrassed her even more.

"Breathe." He told her, turning a page, not looking at her.

She stared at his back for a moment. He looked so... out of this world. He was like a dream. Her eyes started to water and she hung her head. She heard the paper rustle as he turned another page.

"I'm sorry." She said in almost a whisper. He halted, lifting his head up, turning around to look at her. She was staring at the floor. "This must be... very... uncomfortable for you." She smiled a little, but the smile turned into a grimace. "I didn't know... Inuyasha never said anything..."

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the counter-top.

"I can leave." She said, looking down at her feet now. She felt like an intruder being in the house. "I will leave, in the morning."

He turned back to his paper, starting to read again. "Wouldn't that disappoint your friends?" He asked. "My half-brother surely had something planned; it would ruin his vacation as well." He said on a calm, slow voice.

"Wouldn't my being here disappoint you?" She asked him.

"... Not necessarily." He answered.

She looked up at his back, confused. "Isn't this ironic?" She then said tiredly. "I feel like such a fool." She looked away again. "I hated you." She confessed. "I wanted nothing to do with you ever again... so I guess your plan really worked after all." She bit her lip, feeling the bottled up emotions start getting out of her control. "But now you have taken away my reason to hate you, turned it into your advantage… I liked you... a lot... for years." She could feel the tears start flowing down her cheeks. "You were always something unreachable, just a fantasy. But then you... I finally got through, you showed interest in me and... I was confused... overwhelmed." She wiped the tears away.

He was listening to her in silence.

"I knew it was... well, maybe not entirely wrong but... somewhere close to that." She sniffed. "Others would have seen it the way that you just used me. But in reality, I felt like I used you."

She heard him sigh out loud, bow his head down.

"I transferred all the blame to you, the parts that were my fault as well. I thought you could care less and just broke my heart to hurt me but now you tell me you did it to protect it. I have been such a fool. And I feel so dirty now." She laughed a little. She had judged him superficially.

"Please don't."

She lifted her head, meeting his eyes as he had turned to look at her again, this time just over his shoulder. She smiled, this time not being able to help it. She bit her lip, looking down again as the tears started anew.

"It has been a... stressful week." He said slowly. "Go get some sleep."

"Hmn." She nodded, agreeing. She walked past him but just as she was at the door, he stopped her by calling after her.

"There is something you should know about Inuyasha."

She froze. She had just turned back to look at him to ask what it was, when the door in front of her opened.

"Inuyasha!" She gasped. How much had he heard?

The short-haired guy blinked his eyes at the lights in the room groggily. "Yo. Why are you up?" He asked, then took a better look at her and suddenly looked fully awake. "Why are you crying?" He then turned to glare at his older half-brother who was reading his paper as if nothing had happened.

"I accidentally choked as I drank!" She was quick to come up with. Well, it was true. "You know when that happens, sometimes you cry."

He was now looking at her, with a look on his face that was sceptic. "Really?"

"Yes! I cry all the time when that happens." She said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, smiling the best she could. "Good night!" She escaped from the kitchen, knowing she had sounded ridiculous.

That night she slept well, peacefully, but Sesshoumaru's last words to her kept echoing in her mind, concerning.

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It's a beautiful morning. She woke up late, as usual, taking her time to get up.

"Morning." She greeted once she found Sango from the kitchen.

The woman looked up from a book she was reading, glancing at her once. "You look happy." She commented.

Kagome's lips twitched to a smile. "Well... I feel rested." She said with a shrug, making herself breakfast. She felt so much better now that the air was cleared between her and her ex-teacher. Now she could leave what happened into the past, start living without regret. Finally.

"Well I didn't get any sleep. Miroku is a little devil behind closed doors..." Sango muttered, staring into the distance.

Kagome sat down to eat, glad that her friend did not elaborate. She started munching a sandwich, turning her head to look out of the window at the beach. She saw somebody there and looked closer. "Is that Sesshoumaru?" She asked.

"Yeah... I guess. Inu and Miroku are on other side of the house, obsessively fixing the car or something." Sango muttered, sipping her green tea.

Kagome took another bite, still looking outside. "Who's that girl?" She then asked, getting up and walking to the window. Kagome frowned. "There's... a kid there with him..."

"Does he have a kid?" Sango asked.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Aww, you know an awful lot about him..." Sango said, abandoning her book, coming to the window as well. "Wow, he's really good with kids."

"Hmn." Kagome agreed, watching as he carried the girl – approximately six or seven years old - on his shoulders, talking something with her. The kid laughed, they could hear the laughter all the way to the house.

"I bet the kids you two will make shall look astonishing..."

"Hmn... What?" Kagome snapped, realizing what her giggling friend had just said.

Sango laughed. "Well, I have seen the way he looks at you now, don't even try to deny..."

Kagome blushed, looking back out of the window. "He kissed me." She whispered.

"What?" Sango gasped, almost dropping her tea cup.

"We kissed." Kagome said again, quietly, glancing around herself in case the guys had come back in and were eavesdropping.

"I heard you the first time. Kagome, how could you?" Sango breathed, her eyes wide, yet her voice wasn't accusing. It was like she had been excepting something like that to happen. "You are still in love with him!" She gasped with wide eyes.

Kagome blushed deeper. "Baka." She huffed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Of course I am. Such feelings don't go away easily."

"But what about Inuyasha?" Sango asked in a whisper, more serious now. "If he finds out – not that I am telling him anything... I thought you were dating him, not his brother!"

"I am not dating Sesshoumaru!" Kagome denied quickly, heatedly. "Inuyasha, well... I don't know! He's so... frustrating. One moment he's there and then he's gone. I mean, he won't even kiss me..." Kagome bit her lip.

"Well then what the hell are you wasting your time and energy with such a guy!" Sango hissed, pointing towards the beach and the two figures there. "There are men like him out there, woman!"

Kagome started smile, and Sango broke out into laughter as well. "Yeah but seriously Kagome..." Sango tried.

"It's not like I don't like Inuyasha..." Kagome muttered. "He has his moments..."

"Yes well clearly, but you don't love him either, and it's quite clear you fancy the Taisho men..." Sango giggled.

"I can't just go and say: oh, we're over, I'm taking your brother instead!" Kagome hissed. "Can I now?"

"No, that would be really bitchy..." Sango nodded. "But oh damn..." She muttered, shaking her head. "You have to decide." The taller woman's face went serious and she looked out of the window.

Kagome turned to stare outside as well. She knew she needed to make up her mind.

"Oh, here he comes..." Sango said, hurrying back to the table.

Kagome watched in silence as the tall man opened the door separating the beach and the kitchen area.

"Morning!" Sango chirped happily as he stepped in.

"Good morning." He replied, in his usual way. He glanced to where Kagome was standing by the window, her back towards him.

"Who was that kid?" Sango elaborated, glancing up, curious.

"Rin." He replied. "She's a daughter of a couple owning a villa here. She has never seen a healthy day in her life."

Kagome bit her lip, watching as the girl hurried to an older woman, perhaps her grandmother or nanny. The girl looked so lively.

"Kagome."

The black haired woman's back straightened up and she turned around. "Yes?"

Sesshoumaru was standing there in the middle of the kitchen, looking at her. "Forget about what I said yesterday, about Inuyasha." He said. "It is not my place to step in." With that he left, leaving the two women wondering what he was hiding, or rather, what it was that Inuyasha was hiding that made his older brother want to protect his honour.

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"I'm really sorry but we must go now." Sango bowed at them, a grim look on her face. Miroku was already getting into the car that Inuyasha was going to drive.

Kagome fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "Tell Miroku's family my regards." She asked of her friend who nodded. Earlier that morning they had gotten a call from the hospital. It seemed Miroku's father's condition had gotten worse. He had cancer and it had only been a matter of time.

It all just made them realize how fleeting life really was.

"Is it really okay?" Inuyasha asked from the car, looking at her.

She nodded, smiling politely. They had agreed that Inuyasha would take Sango and Miroku to where Miroku's father was; it was quite the long way from where they were now. Sesshoumaru said that he would be taking Kagome home in a day since he had a meeting in Tokyo, not allowing her to change his mind about it.

They watched the car speed off. It puzzled her why Inuyasha had been so keen to take her friends-

"She's there."

"Pardon?" She blinked, lifting her head up to look at Sesshoumaru standing by her on the yard.

He turned his head to look at her with those intense eyes that contrasted with his mostly stoic look. "His ex-girlfriend."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat in her chest and a cold feeling washed over her, making her feel horrible. "His..?" She uttered out.

"They were engaged, actually. Forgive me." He gave her a little nod and turned, left to go back inside the house.

Kagome stared at the ground, all the millions of little stones on the yard. Was Sesshoumaru telling her the truth? Or was he just using the chance to get her all worked up about it? She frowned, kicking at the stones. Damn it.

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The morning they were supposed to leave the villa she walked on the seashore, saying her goodbyes to the place. It had been fun spending the holiday there although it had been suddenly cancelled in the middle.

She saw two figures coming towards her on the sand, one bouncing up and down enthusiastically and the other limping, making her way at a much more slower pace. It was the child and the obaasan.

The girl stopped before her, giving her a toothless grin. "Hello!"

"Hello." Kagome said right back, feeling a little out of place.

"Where is Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked happily, nearly jumping up and down on her place. "You are the neesan who is staying at his house?"

"Yes." Kagome found herself saying. "He is busy."

"Oh?" Some of the enthusiasm of the girl's died.

"We are leaving in a couple of minutes. He is packing." Kagome said, watching as the girl's smile faded again.

"I see." She said, digging her toes into the sand. "The sea air is good for me!" She then said louder, smiling up at her again with admirable effort. She was thin, her skin was pale despite all the sunlight and Kagome could see her veins clearly. She looked so frail, unwell. All except for the eyes that shone brightly with her will to live. In them she could still find the traces of an innocent child.

"Rin!" The obaasan called for her, having stopped some way from them.

The girl's head whipped to the older woman's direction before then she looked back up at Kagome again. "Bye-bye neesan!" She said, running to the obaasan. "Say hi from me!" She asked her to while waving.

Kagome looked at the two as they walked back along the seashore and after one last glance at the sea she turned, walking back to the house.

She got all her belongings and he stuffed them into the trunk of the car. She could not make out what brand the matte black car was, nor was she curious enough to ask – knowing men she might just as well get a report of two hours on the subject, even though it was Sesshoumaru she was talking about – but she could tell from the look of it that it had cost him a lot of money. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine. It literally purred.

He started driving and after her anxiousness slowly melted away she could start seeing why he had spent a fortune on the piece of metal. The ride was smooth. Every time he would press the pedal and speed up she would feel a rush of adrenaline gushing through her veins. Not to mention the seat was utterly comfortable and the glasses were tinted against the sun, probably bulletproof as well. She got the feeling that if they were, by chance, to get involved into a car accident, they might survive with minimum damage.

She started to get the feeling it was not going to be such a bad trip back after all. A lot better than Inuyasha with his reckless driving habits.

"Umm..." She started, remembering she should get something out of her brain. "Would you tell me more... about... what you said earlier?"

He kept his eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel. "No."

She turned to stare right ahead at the road as well. The atmosphere in the car rolled into the realm of uneasiness. "Okay." She said, as calmly as she could despite feeling hurt. Why would he not tell her?

"Oh, that girl... Rin... she said hi." She reported, turning to stare out of the window on her side.

"Hn." She heard him acknowledge it.

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They got almost to Tokyo by nightfall. The whole trip had been silent but the uneasiness had cleared away somewhat after a couple of hours, after when Kagome decided she did not care right now.

"Kagome."

She lifted her head, startled from her thoughts. "Yes?" She replied, wondering what he was suddenly up to.

"Would you accompany me?" He asked, and it was clearly hard for him to find the words. "I have a meeting but it is more of a gathering, a party. I need... someone, a lady on my arm."

Kagome's eyes widened a little. He was asking her? Her over imagining mind was getting to it and she imagined he had been planning on wooing some random woman who looked good to go with him. With his charm, looks and money that would have not been a tough one to accomplish. Hell, with his charm alone-

"Well?" He asked, slightly impatient. "It will be held tomorrow night so you will get a good night's sleep and some time to prepare."

"...Alright." She found herself saying. "I'll accompany you." She felt like she owed him anyway, so maybe this would be her way to pay him back for taking her back to her home. She had a feeling he had been calculating she would answer that way.

"Good." He said.

They drove some way more, to a hotel. It had to be five stars or something. Kagome was awed when he stopped the car at the entrance, getting out. A man working at the hotel came swiftly to open the door for her and helped her out of the car like she was someone important. She started to feel ashamed that she wasn't dressed better right then.

"Come." Sesshoumaru said, offering his arm at her. She was baffled by his act, but took his arm and hurried alongside him to the huge lobby. She worried about their luggage but he didn't say a word about it and had left the car to the care of the staff. He walked to the counter like the owner of the world and it both amused and scared her.

"Ah, welcome." The staff member at the reception bowed at them. "May I have your name?"

"Taisho." He said curtly and the man on the other side of the counter typed it to the computer. "I hope you will enjoy your stay." He said and another staff member came, took a card key and left to take them to the room.

In the elevator she pulled her arm back, fidgeting with her hands. He didn't say anything nor did he try and offer his arm again when they walked out of the elevator. They were taken to a suite.

Kagome looked around herself, amazed, not daring to take a step in any direction. He stood there too, apparently waiting for something.

"This room has been reserved months ago, it is very difficult to get a room - I called in this morning but they did not have any other suites free." He said, explained.

Kagome nodded dumbly. Wait, suites? For her? Didn't he consider she would be just fine in a normal room? Or in a motel? Even sleeping in the car would be fine! Now she felt like a rude house-guest for messing up his plans. But then again, he had been the one who had insisted he drove her to Tokyo. She could have taken a train, although the chances of having gotten groped or harassed sent shivers running down her spine. A lone girl in the night train, what an easy target-

Once again her thoughts were interrupted when the staff brought their luggage to the room. When they were left alone together again, he told her to explore, and to take a shower if she wished.

"Thank you." She replied, walking to the window to take in the view. It was spectacular. She would have expected nothing less.

"You can sleep on the bed." He said, setting up his computer and dialling a couple calls.

Kagome did not dare to say anything to that. She looked at the bed. It was huge. Where was he intending to sleep then? On the sofa? She frowned. Couldn't he just order another bed to the room? Surely that would be possible? Or could it be that he wasn't going to do that because the staff of the hotel thought that they were... what, a couple? It must have appeared that way to everybody else. Ordering another bed would mean there was something troubling their relationship, thus create a negative image to people's heads, make them start thinking the reasons their relationship was wrong. The staff would look at them differently.

Or was she just thinking things too much that day? She was tired and her mind was telling her to get some sleep, fast. He had treated her to dinner on their way so she was not hungry, luckily.

The shower eased her off. She felt less anxious, calmer now. She changed in a t-shirt and shorts she pulled out from her bag. She walked to the bed, sitting down on it, then lifting the covers and crawling underneath them. She sighed in bliss.

It really was a huge bed though. Opening her eyes she watched his back as he worked on his computer. The lights were dim and she could hear the clicking of the buttons as he wrote something. It was not a disturbing sound, rather interesting actually as she listened to it. He would stop for a few moments and then write something again.

"Um... Mr Taisho?" She was not sure how to address him. She couldn't really use the sensei anymore, nor using his first name felt comfortable. Using his last name was all she was left with. "Where will you sleep?"

He halted. "Do not worry; I will sleep on the sofa."

Kagome bit her lip, mentally yelling 'I knew it!'

"You can sleep on the bed, if you like." She said, hoping he would not get upset. She wasn't really afraid of him harassing her... well; he had already done so when she had been his student. He might always do it again, but this time she felt like he wouldn't and even if he would, she wouldn't really mind it.

"Thank you but no thank you." He replied, keeping his back turned at her.

She rose up to sit in a sudden moment of temper. "If you won't, then I will be the one sleeping on the sofa!" She refused. "You are making me feel... uh, well, this is just... nothing I am accustomed to. If it would be me, I would be probably staying at a ryokan!" She declared. "So please do not make feel bad for stealing your bed." She asked him, pleading.

"Please do not feel that way. Just sleep, Kagome..." He said, continuing his work.

Kagome slowly laid back down, a little upset. He had not given her a satisfying answer. They were both trying to be formal with each other, it was their safe zone.

Eventually the stress from the day and the tiredness made her give in to sleep and she welcomed it with open arms.

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Sesshoumaru sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He glanced over at the bed and saw that she had already fallen asleep. Good.

He rose up, found himself a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and headed for the bathroom. The cool water hit his skin and he let his mind empty as he leaned his hands against the tiled wall. Droplets of water dripped down his hair.

It was actually a little bothersome to have such long hair. He had grown it out in a protest. A protest to his father.

That man had ruined his childhood. Everything had been fine, once. He had been happy. He had had a family, a mother and a father. He had been adored. People would come up to him and tell him how lucky he was to have such a life of luxury and such loving parents.

But behind closed doors he had heard them fight. It had been when he was only five years old when he had learned that he had a brother. A half-brother.

His mother had left. He had hardly seen her after that, nor had he heard from her. He hardly knew if she was alive. That woman wanted nothing to do with anything that reminded her of her husband's betrayal or of his husband. Sesshoumaru happened to be a spitting image of his father.

Clenching his fists he gritted his teeth, eyes closed.

Returning from the bathroom he startled when he found a young woman standing in the middle of the room. She was looking lost and as she saw him she let out something incoherent and rushed to him, hugging him tightly.

He looked down at the crown of her head in slight confusion. Was she sleepwalking? "Kagome, you need to go back to the bed." He told her.

She gasped, looking up at him. "No!" She denied, squeezing him tighter. It was admirable how much power such a petite woman could hold in her.

He sighed, slowly starting to walk her back to the bed. He gently but determinedly pried her hands from around him and then laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers back over her. Her eyes were wide open and she seemed panicky.

"What is it?" He asked her, leaning over her, looking down at her.

"You cannot leave me." She said insistently, taking a hold of his hand, entwining her fingers with his. "You cannot marry that woman, promise me you won't!" A tear escaped her eye.

"I am not leaving." He whispered to her, watching as she seemed to think it over.

"Really? You promise?" She asked, her eyes closing. He watched her calm down, her breathing easing off. Once he was sure she was sleeping he slowly drew his hand back to himself.

He still had some work to do.

He got back to the computer and ordered her a dress. He had checked her size from the labels on her clothes. He had learned how women liked shopping and he feared that if he let her go shopping for a dress she'd spent the whole day, be tired, frustrated and snappy after having tried on a dozen articles of clothes. Furthermore, she might refuse altogether. She did not come from a particularly wealthy family and would probably just get embarrassed.

Satisfied that he could finally have some sleep he rose up, walking over to the sofa. He heard her mumble something in her sleep before she turned from one side to another and quieted down.

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	10. A Caress in The Dark

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, but the new plot is mine.

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A knock on the door disturbed her. Her eyes blinked, disoriented. She heard a door open and people talking. She sat up frowning and then crawled out of the bed. She got tangled up on the sheets though and slipped from the bed with a scream.

Sesshoumaru rushed to the bedroom area to see what the matter was after hearing the scream and the crash. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern as he rounded the bed to see her on her back on the floor. The position in itself was rather tempting.

She spoke nonsense in her sleepy haze, a little ashamed and blushing. She took the hand he offered and let him help her up. He untangled her from the sheets, looking into her eyes intently with some humour. She blushed, staring into his eyes.

"Your dress is here." He said, turning his back to her and walking back to the living-room area. Kagome followed him in curiosity and he presented her with a black dress bag. She tilted her head to the side in question, looking up at him.

"You will put on this one in the evening." He said, handing it over.

She took the dress, wondering how it looked. She muttered out a thank you and returned to the bedroom. Well, it was not her party and she probably knew none of the people who would be there so she didn't really care. If he insisted she wore whatever he had just given her, she would. It was for him, after all.

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They had gone to eat and after that Sesshoumaru had sat down to his computer, not saying a word. She had seen it best not to disturb him.

Closing herself to the balcony she took out her cell phone, choosing a familiar number. She lifted the device to her ear, listening. With one last sigh she decided she could always try...

"Hello?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded a little confused and perhaps startled.

"Hello, it's Kagome." She said, adding a smile to her voice.

"Uh, morning." He replied.

Kagome looked at the sky. "Hey, Inuyasha I wanted to ask you about-"

"Sorry, I need to go." He suddenly said.

"Oh? Well, okay-" She started to mutter, holding tighter to the phone as if her grip would keep him there on the other end.

"Bye, talk to you later." He said, like he was in a hurry. The call was cut off and she was left staring at the phone in shock. Her heart sank to her stomach and she took a minute or two to set her mind straight.

Calling to Sango she learned Miroku's father's condition had stabilized.

"Do you know where Inuyasha is?" Kagome asked her best friend.

"Oh, he left." Sango said. "I don't really know where he went."

They talked some more and a few moments later she returned back inside, closing the balcony door. He was still working. Kagome quietly crept to the sofa. Watching him sigh and type something she wondered about things.

"Do you enjoy your work?" She found herself ask. For a moment she thought to take the words back – it was none of her business after all – and she doubted he had even heard her for it felt like she had just whispered out those words.

He turned to look at her, halting his working. "Why do you want to know?"

She stared back at him. "Eh, never mind..." She cast her eyes to the side, avoiding.

He watched her sit there, curled up on the sofa, her knees brought up to her chest, her hands fidgeting with the material of her sleeve. She was biting her lower lip, frowning.

"I do not particularly like my job. But it is not that hard and I get paid reasonably well." He said. "And it makes my father happy. What more is there to it?"

She smiled up at him, sadness in her eyes. She worried her lip again and he watched her open and close her mouth. He waited.

"My... father... he..." She started, bowing her head down a little at the memories, a little uncertainty in her voice. "He was one of those salary-men. He was always at work and I never saw but pictures of him when I was a child."

He stared at her.

"When he would get a holiday he would just sleep in his room and our mother told us not to disturb him." The house, it had always been unnaturally silent when dad was at home. "One day, when I got back from school, I found mother crying by the kitchen table." Kagome smiled a little sad smile at the memory.

"I am sorry." Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome smiled a little again, looked up at him and nodded at him. "I never really knew him. I don't know what food he liked. I don't know what dreams he had…" She never saw him show any affection. He never smiled.

She laughed a little, looking at her hands. She was about to start her work as well. "I know that there is no easy way. I understand that."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Kagome startled, looked up at him. "Oh, well... I don't really know. I think that when you were teaching us you looked... I presume, happy."

"Don't presume to know my happiness." He said to her, his tone a little harder now. "I know my limits and sometimes a change is necessary for development. Do not concern yourself with my well-being. The only thing you should focus on now is to make yourself look presentable for tonight."

Kagome could feel tears swell up to her eyes. "Yes. Of course." She said, getting up from the sofa.

She walked as calmly, as normally as she could to the bedroom and then closed and locked the door, gulping. She momentarily closed her eyes and when she opened them, she had hardened her heart, closed off her thoughts and set her mind. Her mission was to be his date for tonights. She was going to do well now.

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He was walking in circles, glancing anxiously at his watch. Once she had gone to the bedroom she had stayed there and had not come out. He had not heard anything. He started to wonder if she had jumped out of the window.

Just when it was really starting to be the time to leave and his prancing had gotten faster and he was just about to break down the door it opened.

"Are you ready to lea-" The words got tangled up somewhere in him. He blinked his eyes in disbelief.

She smiled, pursed her blood-red lips a little and looked up at him with her astonishing brown eyes that she had lined up with black, sophisticatedly. They drew the gaze of whoever was looking at her like magnets. Her hair was up on a loose bun with a few pieces of hair escaping, curled.

The dress fit her perfectly. The sleek black material flowed around her, tighter around her breasts but looser around her hips, reaching all the way to her ankles, occasionally showing a little leg as she moved and the layers parted. She wore black high heels he had seen in her belongings earlier. She had done better than he had expected.

Yet, there was something missing.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat when she saw him reach for his pocket and bring out a little black velvet box. He opened it, presenting a sparkling pair of simple diamond earrings.

She took the box, glancing up at him and finding a mirror she put the earrings on. She turned her head from side to side, admiring the jewels, speechless. They sparkled when light hit them. They were real diamonds.

"Time to go." He said, having walked to her and offered her his arm. She took it without a word and followed him out of the room, to the elevator, through the lobby where they gathered attention and finally to his car where the door was opened for her.

She watched as he rounded the car to the driver's seat. He looked good in the greyish suit. It looked a little out of the ordinary and yet, so was he.

His eyes suddenly caught hers as if he had known she was looking at him. "Is the drive short?" She asked him, trying to come up with something.

"No." He answered, looking at the road now.

She felt more confident in her high heels and pretty dresses. "I think you owe me an explanation." She started, staring right ahead. "About Inuyasha. About that other woman."

She heard him sigh deeply.

"Please. You need to tell me." She pleaded.

"Alright." He said, giving in. He had, after all, slipped it originally on purpose. "Inuyasha was engaged to a woman named Kikyo." He started, slowing down the speed a little. "They were set to be married, she was from a wealthy family and the marriage was thoroughly accepted."

Kagome continued to listen, staring right in front of her. "But then something happened?"

"Yes... they argued and he left. She, enraged, got into a car. She drove off a cliff. Luckily the car got stuck and didn't crush. She was taken to a hospital."

Kagome could feel her eyes water; she turned to look out of the window on her side, but could only see her own reflection in the dark and the silver form of his. He was silent for a moment.

"Is she alive?" She asked. "How long ago did that happen?"

"It happened a year ago." He answered, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "She's alive, but unconscious. There isn't much hope for her."

So in other words she was still breathing and her heart was pumping blood through her veins because the machines were keeping her alive at the hospital. Her mind... it probably was lost and even if she were to awaken, she would be a completely different person.

"Thank you... for telling me this." She thanked him, silently.

He didn't answer.

What a fool she had been! It explained almost everything that there was to be explained. Why Inuyasha acted the way he did, why he often disappeared somewhere, why he refused to be in a real relationship with her.

"Why me?" She found herself asking.

"Because you look like her." He said.

Kagome felt a cold feeling of shock rush through her, stabbing her in the chest like a dagger of ice, leaving her very uncomfortable.

They didn't talk for the remaining time.

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The party was grand and everywhere she looked she could see rich, laughing people dressed in their finest.

He had explained the story to her in the car. They were dating. She was one of his many conquests. They had met by chance at a street when it had rained and he had borrowed her his umbrella and she had fallen for him the second their eyes had met.

It sounded sickly romantic, but she learned it sank amazingly well into the hearts of the ladies that talked with her. The rich wives looked at her curiously, their hunger for gossip getting sated. Soon she learned she was something sensational. Sesshoumaru had not brought what the others dubbed a 'decent' woman in front of everyone in years.

She wondered why that was. But after watching him being surrounded by a flock of love hungry women that seemed to always find him where ever he went, she was no longer surprised. She smiled a little, relishing in the fact that he trusted her enough to bring her, enough to know she wouldn't act like they were getting married and having babies the first chance they got. She was sure many women would have jumped at the chance to. Maybe he just desired peace from such things? Did he need to cleanse his image?

Lost in her thoughts she wandered to the edge of the room and to the large balcony. The night air was cool but it woke her up quite efficiently. For a moment, staring up at the moon, she wondered what she was doing in such a place to start with. She wondered how long they had already been there and the party seemed to only be starting...

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Startled she looked around herself, quickly spotting a man who walked closer to her, a drink in his hand.

"What is?" She asked, smiling slightly, trying to be polite.

"The moon." He said, leaning against the railing next to her. He turned to glance at her. "I saw you admiring it." He looked back up at the night sky. Then he straightened up and bowed at her. "My name is Kouga."

"Kagome." She answered, bowing in return. "Nice to meet you, Kouga-san."

He laughed, leaning back against the railing. He glanced at her again and she wondered if he had some ideas in his head that she wished were not there.

Slightly confused, she saw it best to look like she was enjoying herself.

"With whom did you come here?" He asked her, sipping at his drink.

She glanced at him. "Taisho Sesshoumaru." She said.

"Ah..." He took a gulp of the liquid and she was not sure if he wrinkled his nose at the taste or rather to the name. "Well you can leave here with me." He then said casually, not looking at her.

She felt insulted but tried to keep her calm. She smiled. "That won't happen." She said sternly.

"Oh, but he is ignoring you."

"We are in love." The words just slipped her without thinking. Damn, she needed some way to prove herself.

The dark haired stranger huffed as if he was humoured and then turned to her, carelessly throwing his glass over the railing and to the darkness down below. He looked at her keenly and tilted his head.

"I don't think..." He stepped closer to her, all too close, pressed against her as his hands slid down her sides. "... that it's true." He leaned in closer, intent to kiss her but she roughly pulled back, slapping him.

He caught her by the wrist before her hand could connect with his cheek. Clicking his tongue he smirked at her.

Fear overcame her momentarily and she gritted her teeth and glared at him, pulling herself free with all her might. She almost lost her balance on her high heels as she recoiled backwards. Holding her hurting wrist she glared at him and quickly left, going back inside where she could melt into the mass of people.

"Oh, there you are, Sesshoumaru-sama wishes to see you." Some woman giggled, giving her a look which told her how much she wished Kagome would just disappear somewhere and leave the man behind.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly, blinking her eyes hard to overcome her emotions. She rather quickly spotted him in the crowd, their eyes met and she started making her way towards him.

When she got to him though, she froze, momentarily.

It was that same man, smirking down at her, standing opposite to Sesshoumaru, obviously conversing something with him. He paused, looking at her expectantly.

"Here." Sesshoumaru outstretched his arm, pulling her close to him. "This is Kagome." He introduced her.

"Pleased to meet you." The black haired man smiled, outstretching his arm to draw her hand to his lips as he theatrically bowed and kissed the back of her hand. She winced slightly when his fingers squeezed her wrist he had hurt earlier.

They both missed the narrowing of the silver haired man's eyes.

"Our company does some business with his." Sesshoumaru spoke out to her, his hand still loosely around her hips, keeping her standing there by his side.

She listened in silence as the two talked, both insulting each other with hidden messages every now and then. She was amazed at how well Sesshoumaru handled it and how good he was with his stingy words. She started regaining her confidence, leaning towards the man next to her for comfort.

He glanced down at her. "You must be exhausted, shall we get going?" He asked her.

"Oh no!" That slimy bastard standing opposite to them opposed. "You should stay; the dance is just about to begin."

Almost as if he had ordered it to be so, somebody clicked something that was metal against a glass, making the crowd silence.

They were ushered to another great hall and Kagome could feel herself start sweating nervously as the music started to play.

She could sense the tenseness radiating from Sesshoumaru. Obviously he had planned it so that they would be off before this event but now his plan had failed.

He had just opened his mouth to say something to her when Kouga stepped up, offering his hand to her. "I would like to have this dance." He insisted sweetly.

Kagome gulped, looking up at Sesshoumaru for consolation and guidance but he was looking at Kouga. "By all means." He said, stepping back calmly, leaving her with that slimy bastard. Kagome let him lead her to the dance floor.

It was a tango. She felt so embarrassed.

He stepped on her toes.

She bit her teeth together, enduring the pain.

He did it again. She was more careful with her feet and where she placed them. But she did not complain. No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Enjoying the dance?" He asked by her ear. He was far too close to her to her tastes.

"Yes." She forced out of her mouth.

He dipped her down backwards. When pulling her upright his hand travelled to her behind and slid down her thigh, his fingers disgustingly close to where she absolutely didn't want them.

Then she started thinking. Sesshoumaru was there watching. Would he be mad? Wouldn't any other man be mad? That is, if they really were dating or in love. No... Sesshoumaru wouldn't be mad. He would be his calm self. Would he reject her, look at her with contempt in his eyes? Probably not. Why? Because they all three knew they were playing a game. She did not wish to see Kouga win.

Sesshoumaru would not be mad at her. He would not apologize, he would not yell. She would not go and scream at him that she had had enough and they were breaking up. She would not humiliate him, no matter how much Kouga humiliated her. She would not cause a scene.

"I believe a switch is in order." Suddenly Sesshoumaru was standing there, offering his her his hand. She pulled back from Kouga and took it with glee.

Sesshoumaru did not step on her toes. He did not humiliate her. He didn't talk to her, which she wished he did. Frowning ever so slightly, she glanced up at him trying to read his face. What was going on inside his head? Had she miscalculated him?

But her torture was not over. Countless men seemed to come out of nowhere and ask for a dance. Some felt like they were sent by Kouga and others danced with her just because they were curious. Some tried to pry information from her but she was clever enough to round the questions. It was like dancing on sharp pieces of metal.

When it finally was over the sun was starting to rise, almost. It was the time in the early morning when for an hour everything was at its darkest and one started to doubt if the new day would come at all.

Her feet were numb. She was thankful for she knew they had to be on bruises and blisters. She was relieved beyond belief when finally she got to sit back against the cool leather of the car seat. She let out a sigh, out loud.

Sesshoumaru got into the car and turned to look at her. He was frowning but she had closed her eyes, breathing hard, tired. So he started the engine and drove them back to the hotel. She took off her high heels, wincing at the pain that it brought. Her head was messy from all the champagne she had been forced to drink to look like everybody else.

She had not realized she had fallen asleep. She only woke up when the car stopped and the door on her side opened. Some people kept talking and someone called her name. She slowly came back to her senses when somebody did lift her up to their arms and started carrying her.

She blinked her eyes against the lights. She realized Sesshoumaru was carrying her and a sense of security washed over her, making her sleepy again.

"Come on, you need to cool off your feet."

She blinked her eyes open and forced herself to understand. He switched on the bathroom light and it was so bright it hurt her. The freezing cold water which poured over her from the shower did the trick.

She screamed, waking up fully in less than two seconds.

"You damn dog!" She insulted, quickly getting away from the cold spray. Confused, she stopped when she heard him chuckle. She stared at him in awe. He laughed? Stopping to stare she gaped at him. He looked and sounded tired, but he was indeed laughing at her.

"What is so funny?" She moaned frustrated, wincing at every step she took to stand in the cold water, trying to keep her dress from getting wet, the coolness rinsing off some of the swollen pain.

Suddenly he hugged from behind. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, surprised.

"Gomen." He said.

Her expression melted into a gentle forgiving smile before she turned to stare at her feet again. It didn't matter if he gave her the reasons for things that had happened previously that night. It was enough that he apologized.

He didn't let go of her, instead he pulled her a little more against his chest. She leaned against him, therefore moving some of her weight from her feet onto him. He was holding her up. It felt nice. His form was so warm against her back.

When he closed the tap and pulled her altogether up from the ground she did not object. When he lowered her onto the bed she did not object. When he kissed her she slowly started responding.

When his lips moved to her neck, she sighed. When he was between her legs, going in and out of her she vocalised her pleasure.

It was good. So good. Almost... too good. But it did not bother her. She did not allow it to bother her now.

It did not matter that the sun rose. They did not even realize that. Both were too immersed in each other, staring too deeply into each other's eyes. She became hypnotized by his voice. All that mattered to her was that she heard him panting for her. The caresses felt freeing, all the need to possess melted to the need to be free.

She didn't really understand the world where he came from. He hardly understood hers. It did not matter. None of such things mattered.

All that mattered to her was that she could feel his skin on hers, the movements he made, all the little sounds and smells, that she felt like she was not alone, not the only one who was vulnerable, not the only one that let go and lived only in the moment.

It was freeing consolation. It was bliss.

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When she woke up she was alone in the bed. She could hear him in the shower, the water hitting the floor. She wondered about things for a minute. She felt so absolutely good she was content to just be there unmoving.

But then reality hit her against the face. She rose up to sit with a gasp. She couldn't stay. How could she? He probably didn't wish to see her again at all, he would detest her. She quickly got up from the bed and pulled on her black dress from the night. Hurriedly she gathered her belongings and took her bags, her heart drumming in her ears as she rushed through the living-room area and to the door.

Her hand reached for the door handle when suddenly she was pulled back and slammed against the said door.

Furious golden eyes demanded an answer. "Where the hell do you think you are going?"

She felt tears rise up to her eyes. "N-nowhere!" She gasped, terrified and ashamed beyond belief for having been caught leaving. She hung her head in shame.

"Why did you try to leave like that?" He asked dead serious with a slightly calmer voice and she could hear from his voice how she had wounded him.

"I thought... I-I feel so dirty I..."

"Why?" He asked bluntly, sternly.

"Because I am just like any other woman!" She yelled, looking up into his eyes with suddenly flaming eyes of hers. Just like any other whore that had squirmed their way into his bed. She felt disappointed in herself.

"I should hit you just for thinking something like that." He whispered to her ear, igniting fear in her heart. The adrenaline rush that ensued sharpened all her senses considerably, making her aware of his scent, of the blood rushing through his veins. "Do you no longer find me desirable?" He asked her, his fingers tracing down her neck. "Is your mission over?"

"No!" She was quick to deny. "No, I- it's not like that I-"

"Good, then prove it." He said, kissing her.

She forgot all of her resistance the instant her emotions flooded her brain. She dropped her bag, it being left forgotten to the floor when he again made her feel desired, wanted, made her remember why she shouldn't leave.

It was too early, too easy to say I love you. It always was. She didn't believe in such things. Not now, at least. Did she wish to believe? No, she wanted to experience.

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Three years later...

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Inuyasha had acted calmly to the news of his half-brother and Kagome being in a relationship. Kikyo's funeral had been held two years ago and while it felt like his heart had been buried with her body it also felt like he had finally been set free.

Wishing to see the world and gather his broken soul he had left the country. Nobody knew of his whereabouts but they occasionally got a postcard or two.

It had been hard for Kagome to accept that she could have a relationship with Sesshoumaru, but luckily for her, after he had gotten close to her he had not wanted to let go.

She was the type to play around with men bravely as long as no-one grasped a hold of but to be scared to death of commitment. So maybe that was why she always chose men who could not pose as a real caring person, somebody who could not form a serious relationship with her, and when there was any sign that they could, she'd leave them immediately, too horrified to calm down and keep going. But Sesshoumaru... he held on, not allowing her to leave. And after a while, she no longer wanted to leave.

Life together had not been easy at all – she had insisted to work while he had wanted her to stay at home. He wanted children – she was wary of the idea, at least yet when she was still unsure. After she had stopped to look for escapes from the relationship though, the idea had become more and more addictive.

They lived together. It was bliss to wake up next to him almost every morning; it was bliss to feel another person's warmth during the night, to hear a heart beating next to hers, to hear the sound of another person breathing. She had always hated to be alone.

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The End of this, not their life.

Author's Note: Just a fun little fact; during writing this story – which I think took me a little over a year - I started dating my first boyfriend and also broke up with him. It was very painful. Cherish your relationships! ^^


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